SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Hoyt Wilhelm, who used a knuckleball to become the first relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, died Thursday of heart failure, it was announced Saturday. He was 79.
Wilhelm spent 21 seasons in the major leagues and retired in 1972 with 1,070 appearances, a record broken by Dennis Eckerlsey and Jesse Orosco. He compiled a 143-122 record with 227 saves and a 2.52 ERA for nine teams.
"My husband always thought it was the greatest thing in the world that he could make a living at doing what he loved best -- playing baseball," Wilhelm's wife, Peggy, told the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
New York Mets pitching coach Charlie Hough counted Wilhelm as one of his mentors. Hough began throwing a knuckleball in 1970 and met Wilhelm a year later while pitching for Triple-A Spokane of the Pacific Coast League.
"He was terrific with me," Hough said. "I was already throwing that pitch, but he changed my grip a little and showed me where to stand on the mound. I watched him work a lot too and that helped me. And I played catch with him everyday. You learned a lot that way. That was also a challenge."
San Francisco Manager Dusty Baker was a teammate of Wilhelm's with the Atlanta Braves in the early '70s.
"This year, more baseball players have passed away in one year than I can remember," Baker said. "I faced him in exhibition games when I was in Triple-A. Yeah, (the knuckler) was good, very good. He was a good guy. He was a guy that really helped Phil Niekro develop his knuckler. I hadn't seen him in a long time, but still, he's one of ours."
Wilhelm began experimenting with his unorthodox pitch after reading a story about knuckleballer Dutch Leonard while playing high school ball in his hometown of Huntersville, N.C.
He also won a Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Three members of the Hall, the others being Ted Williams and Enos "Country" Slaughter, have died in the past two months.
