Harrison Wickel

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Harrison Paine "Muck" Wickel (September 6, 1912 – March 25, 1989) [1] was a minor league baseball player, manager as well as a scout and World War II veteran. He was also inducted into the Bucks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. [2]

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (PSHF) is a nonprofit organization established in 1962. It is the only community-based hall of fame in the United States. At its annual convention and induction ceremonial, the PSHF inducts athletes, coaches, administrators, and those involved in sports medicine and the sports media, whose athletic achievements "have brought lasting fame and recognition to the State of Pennsylvania". At the induction ceremony, ten living and two deceased inductees are honored, with the presentation of a Gold Inductee medallion with pendant. The convention and ceremonial are rotated among the chapters of the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western regions.

Contents

Playing career

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Wickel played from 1935 to 1942 and in 1946. He hit a combined .317 in 951 games, hitting as high as .368 in a season and as many as 23 home runs. [3] [4] In 1937, he led the Northeast Arkansas League with 124 RBI. In 1939, he led the Mountain State League with 142 RBI. He was an all-star shortstop in the 1936 Northeast Arkansas League and in 1939 and 1941 in the Mountain State League. [5]

Reading, Pennsylvania City in Pennsylvania, United States

Reading is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 87,575, it is the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania. Located in the southeastern part of the state, it is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area, and is furthermore included in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area.

The Northeast Arkansas League was the name used by a pair of American minor league baseball leagues. The first of these started operations in 1909 and continued through 1911. The second version began operations for the 1936 season. It continued through the 1941 season.

The Mountain State League was a Class-D professional baseball league that existed from 1936 to 1941 and a Class-C league in 1942.

Managing career

Wickel managed from 1936 to 1942 and in 1946. He managed the West Plains Badgers in 1936, the Caruthersville Pilots in 1936 and 1937, [6] the New Iberia Cardinals in 1938, the Daytona Beach Islanders in 1938, [7] [8] the Williamson Red Birds from 1939 to 1941, the Columbus Red Birds in 1942 and the Decatur Commodores. [9] He led the Pilots to a league championship in 1936 and the Williamson Red Birds to a league championship in 1940. He was replaced by Jimmy Sanders in 1938. As Sanders took Wickel's job with the Islanders in 1938, Wickel took Sanders' job with the Cardinals, so effectively it was a managerial trade. [4]

The New Iberia Cardinals were an Evangeline League baseball team that played under various names from 1934 to 1956.

Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, due to their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1977, the team once again took up the Islanders name before becoming the Daytona Beach Astros for the next seven seasons. Then, for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, they were, yet again, known as the Daytona Beach Islanders, playing as a co-op club of the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers for the first of those years and as a full affiliate of the Rangers for the 1986 season. Finally the team became the Daytona Beach Admirals in 1987, before being sold and becoming the St. Lucie Mets.

The Williamson Red Birds were a Mountain State League baseball team based in Williamson, West Virginia, United States that played from 1939 to 1942. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Wickel died in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1989. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ Baseball Reference lists Wickel's DOB as September 10, 1910
  2. ↑ ""Berks Chapter of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame to induct eight" - Reading Eagle". News.google.com. 1983-04-23. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  3. ↑ "BR Minors page". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  4. 1 2 ""Wickel is Young Manager, Old in Experience" - Daytona Beach Morning Journal". News.google.com. 1941-12-27. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  5. ↑ "New Honors for Muck Wickel" - Reading Eagle
  6. ↑ "Today in the World of Sports". Southeast Missourian. 1936-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  7. ↑ ""New Manager's Job for Muck Wickel" - Reading Eagle". News.google.com. 1938-08-11. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  8. ↑ ""To Gainesville Tonight" - Daytona Beach Morning Journal". News.google.com. 1938-08-05. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  9. ↑ ""Harrison Wickel Named Decatur 3 Eye Manager" - Chicago Daily Tribune". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1946-02-10. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  10. ↑ Baseball Reference
<i>Southeast Missourian</i> newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri

The Southeast Missourian is a daily newspaper published in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States, and serves the southeastern portion of Missouri.

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