This is Al Wingo. He played six seasons in the majors: a cup of coffee with the Philadelphia A's in 1919 as a twenty-one year old, and then five seasons with the Tigers from 1924 to 1928. He hit a pretty astounding .308 over his MLB career. Largely due to his off-the-carts 1925 season, when he smashed .370, finishing 12th in MVP voting. Over 30% of his hits that year were for extra bases, and he was decent defensively, too. He led the league in double players turned by a left fielder (6). Many of you may recognize the name Wingo, but you're likely thinking of Al's older brother, Ivy, who had a pretty long and prosperous MLB career.
Amazingly, when Al hit .370 for the Tigers in 1925, he was the *worst* hitting outfielder on the Tigers squad. Heilmann and Cobb hit .393 and .378, respectively. I wonder if they gave him crap about that?
Al had a few decent seasons with the Seals. After 1925, his offensive production dropped off precipitously, although he hit well over .300 every year with the Seals.
Al was killed fifty years ago in a car accident.
Was very excited to add this one to my collection:
