Ron willis biography

Despite the lack of regular work, he remained reliable when called upon. In spring training he had rediscovered his good curveball, a pitch he had abandoned as a rookie. For the season, Willis appeared in 48 games, had a record of , was credited with four saves, and posted an ERA of 3. His nickname among teammates was No-Chin, a reference to his receding jawline.

Willis often poked fun at himself. Willis again relieved in three games. He had scoreless outings in Games Two and Five before allowing four earned runs in Game Six, a contest the Tigers won, During the off-season Willis was part of the Cardinal Caravan, a winter promotional tour for the team to connect with its fans across the Midwest. Along with Bo Belinsky who was briefly in the Cards organization that winter , Willis filled in admirably, displaying a dry wit and entertaining the fans in attendance.

When Willis pitched in spring training of , he experienced soreness in his right elbow. Unable to get his arm loose during bullpen sessions, he began experimenting with a palm ball until his pitching coach, Moffett, advised against it owing to concern of further stress on the arm. After taking the loss in an extra-inning game versus the Mets on July 2, Willis had a 4.

He did not find much success there, posting a record and 6. Also at Tulsa that year was former big-league first baseman Jeoff Long , who shared memories of his old teammate in In or around when I was out of the game, I contracted pericarditis. I was hospitalized, and it was pretty serious. Guess who visited me in the hospital…Ron Willis.

I will never forget his thoughtfulness at that time. I might add that Ron had one hell of a sinking fastball. In August, the Houston Astros purchased the rights to Willis for an undisclosed sum. The righty appeared in just three games without a decision for the Astros and did not allow a run. In previous off-seasons, Willis had taken jobs unloading boxcars and selling insurance.

In the winter of , he performed manual labor in St. He showed up at the Teamsters Union Hall at 6 a. After a dockhand at a trucking firm suffered a broken leg, Willis was offered that position. He dropped seven pounds from his frame and maybe added a little muscle. And on the other hand, I was confident I could get guys out in the majors. Louis assigned him to Double-A Arkansas to start the season.

He regained confidence and effectiveness on the mound, going with 13 saves while recording an ERA of 1. Despite his success, the Cardinals did not give him another opportunity at the big-league level, something that perplexed Willis. Willis was thrilled to be in San Diego. Despite not being able to extend his elbow beyond 45 degrees, he was an effective reliever with his new team.

Louis and threw a scoreless inning. San Diego manager Preston Gomez used Willis frequently. He pitched in 15 out of 22 games and allowed just one earned run in his first 25 innings.

Ron willis biography

Willis eventually went through a rough stretch in August and ended the season with a record and an ERA of 4. In , Willis pitched for the Islanders at their spring training camp in California but was released after two weeks. Rather than accept another minor league job, he decided to head back to Memphis and call it quits. For his major league career, Willis finished with an record, 19 saves, strikeouts, and a 3.

He was 80 days shy of the minimum amount of service time needed to receive a pension. He did not completely give up baseball, however. He sold chemicals, started his own company selling electronics, and went back to working in the insurance business. The team did not play well, attendance fell, and there was a disastrous promotional event.

Because the Blues stadium only held 6,, Willis arranged for the game to be played at Memphis Memorial Stadium, a facility built for football. The event lost money, and there was criticism from fans and the press. Willis was fired in mid-season and found another job selling houseware products. In , Willis underwent surgery to evaluate persistent headaches.

The seven-hour operation revealed a malignant brain tumor. His former teammates came to his aid and held several fundraisers. The Cardinals hired Willis as a part-time scout after his diagnosis. He underwent a second surgery in July, but ultimately his cancer was terminal. Ron Willis died on November 21, at the age of He was buried at Zion Cemetery in Obion, Tennessee.

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This article was written by Eric Vickrey. Sources In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-Reference. Full Name Ronald Earl Willis. Baseball player. References [ edit ]. Retrieved March 4, External links [ edit ]. Louis Cardinals World Series champions. Regular season. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Tulsa Oilers baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen American baseball pitcher, s births stubs.

Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use mdy dates from July All stub articles. Toggle the table of contents. Ron Willis. Born: July 12, Willisville, Tennessee, U. Died: November 21, aged 34 Memphis, Tennessee , U. Batted: Right Threw: Right. September 20, , for the St. Louis Cardinals.

September 29, , for the San Diego Padres. Stats at Baseball Reference.