Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills (born October 2, 1932 in Washington, DC) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959-66, 1969-72), and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967-68) and Montreal Expos (1969). He was an essential component of the Dodgers' championship teams in the mid-1960's, and deserves much credit for reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy. October 2nd is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in North America. ... The position of the shortstop A shortstop moves to his left, toward the center of the field, to play a ground ball Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. ... In baseball, a switch hitter (or switch-hitter) is a batter who is able to hit from both the right and left sides of the plate. ... Los Angeles Dodgers National League AAA Las Vegas 51s AA Jacksonville Suns A Columbus Catfish Vero Beach Dodgers R Ogden Raptors Gulf Coast Dodgers Brooklyn Dodgers redirects here. ... Pittsburgh Pirates National League AAA Indianapolis Indians AA Altoona Curve A Lynchburg Hillcats Hickory Crawdads Williamsport Crosscutters R Bradenton Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ... The Washington Nationals is a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C.. It relocated to Washington from Montréal, Québec, Canada after the 2004 season. ... The all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, swipes third in 1985 In baseball statistics, stolen bases (denoted by SB) is a count of the number of bases successfully stolen by a player. ...

In his first-full season (1960), Wills hit .295 and led the league with 50 stolen bases, being the first NL player to do it since Max Carey stole 51 in 1923. Wills stole 104 bases in 1962 to establish a new record in baseball, breaking the old mark of 96, set by Ty Cobb in 1915. Besides this, he hit .299, led the league in triples (10), and was selected the NL Most Valuable Player (beating out Willie Mays by seven points). See also: 1959 in sports, other events of 1960, 1961 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Junior Johnson won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship - Rex White Indianapolis 500 - Jim Rathmann USAC Racing - A.J. Foyt won the season championship Formula One Championship... Max Carey baseball card, 1912 Max George Carey (January 11, 1890 - May 30, 1976) was a Major League Baseball player. ... See also: 1922 in sports, 1924 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto racing First 24 hours of Le Mans won by André Lagache and René Leonard Football (American) Canton Bulldogs win National Football League title Football (Australian Rules) Victorian Football League - Essendon wins the 27th VFL... See also: 1961 in sports, 1963 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Fireball Roberts won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship - Joe Weatherly Indianapolis 500 - Rodger Ward USAC Racing - Rodger Ward won the season championship Formula One Championship - Great Britain 24 hours of... Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 in Royston, Georgia - July 17, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia), usually known as Ty Cobb and nicknamed The Georgia Peach, was an American baseball player considered to be the greatest player of the Deadball Era (1900-1920), and perhaps of all time. ... See also: 1914 in sports, 1916 in sports and the list of years in sports. Football (Australian Rules) Victorian Football League - Carlton wins the 19th VFL Premiership (Carlton 11. ... In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base by striking the ball and getting to third before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ... In the game of baseball, both amateur and professional, it is tradition to annually recognize the one player in the league who has contributed the most to the success of the players team. ... Willie Howard Mays, Jr. ...

Although Luis Aparicio had been stealing 50+ bases in the American League for several years prior to Wills' insurgence, Wills brought new prominence to the tactic. Perhaps this was due to greater media exposure in Los Angeles, or to the Dodgers' greater success, or to their extreme reliance on a low-scoring strategy that emphasized pitching, defense, and Wills' speed to compensate for their lack of productive hitters. Wills was a significant distraction to the pitcher even if he didn't try to steal, as Dodger Stadium crowds would chant, "Go! Go! Go!" anytime he got on base. Luis Aparicio (born April 29, 1934, Maracaibo, Venezuela) was a Venezuelan baseball shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox. ... The all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, swipes third in 1985 In baseball statistics, stolen bases (denoted by SB) is a count of the number of bases successfully stolen by a player. ... The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. ... Dodger Stadium has been the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team since 1962, and was also the home of the Los Angeles Angels between 1962 and 1965. ...

A winner of the Gold Glove Award in 1961 and 1962, Wills was selected five times for the All-Star Game. After retiring, he managed the Seattle Mariners (1980-81). In American baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to simply as the Gold Glove, is the award annually given to the Major League player judged to be the most superior individual fielding performance at each position (in each league), as voted by the managers and coaches in each... The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is an annual exhibition baseball game between the best players from the National League and the American League. ... In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. ... Seattle Mariners American League AAA Tacoma Rainiers AA San Antonio Missions A Inland Empire 66ers Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Everett AquaSox R Peoria Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a Major League Baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. ...

In 14-seasons career, Wills batted .281 with 20 home runs, 458 RBI, 2134 hits, 1067 runs, 177 doubles, 71 triples, and 586 stolen bases in 1942 games. Batting average is a statistic in both baseball and cricket measuring the performance of baseball hitters and cricket batsmen, respectively. ... In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run, with no errors on the play that result in the batter achieving extra bases. ... In baseball statistics, a run batted in (RBI) is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batters plate appearance. ... In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when he safely reaches first base after batting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielders choice. ... In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances safely around all three bases and returns safely to home plate. ... In baseball, a double is the act of a batter safely reaching second base by striking the ball and getting to second before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ...

Highlights

• 5-time All-Star (1961-63, 1965-66)
• MVP (1962)
• Twice Gold Glove (1961-62)
• 6-time led league in stolen bases (1960-65)
• Led league in triples (1962)
• 7th MLB player to hit home runs from each side of the plate in a game (1962)
• Won the Hickok Belt award (1962)

The S. Ray Hickok Belt was a trophy awarded to the top professional athlete of the year. ...

External links

• Official web site (http://maurywills.com/)
• Player and managerial careers at Baseball Reference (http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/willsma01.shtml)