Wabishaw Spencer “Doc” Wiley: Highly Respected Catcher in Negro League Baseball

0 Posted by - February 18, 2024 - Black History, BLACK MEN, LATEST POSTS

Wabishaw Spencer “Doc” Wiley was a highly respected catcher in Negro league baseball. He played from 1910 to 1924.

Wiley was born on February 1, 1892, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. His ethnicity has often been question but is believed the big Oklahoman was part Indian and African American. Wiley graduated from the Howard University School of Dentistry. He began practicing dentistry in addition to playing baseball, setting up offices in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey.

His career baseball career began in 1910 as a catcher with the West Baden Sprudels, under manager C.I. Taylor, but moved to New York the following year and remained there for most of his career.

During World War I, Wiley volunteered for military service. He was discharged in 1919. He died in 1935 in Essex County, Virginia.
He began his baseball career in 1910 as a catcher for the West Baden Sprudels. He later played for the Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1910 and 1911 before moving on to the New York Lincoln Giants.

In 1913, Wiley had a batting average of .398. The following season, he batted .418. Wiley, who eventually caught Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Cyclone Joe Williams, was considered one of the best catchers of his era. His retired from the game in 1924. Over a decade after his death, Wiley received votes listing him on the 1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the Negro Leagues’ best players ever.

 

source:

http://www.nlbemuseum.com/history/players/wiley.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabishaw_Wiley

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