If you’re a Houston Astro fan, you’ll know the date of January 5 as being the anniversary of the very sad event. On this date in 1975, Donald Edward Wilson, a single with the true greats among the Astros players, waved his fans farewell and walked out of life’s excellent ballpark forever. The memories he left behind would fill Houston’s Minute Maid Park many times over. No Astro fan will forget the player acknowledged merely as ‘Don’.
Born on February 12th, 1945, Don Wilson played college baseball at the Compton Community College, Compton, CA. The Astros snapped him up in 1966, needing a fantastic pitcher (what team does not?). While he could perform quite well, he had a tendency to be regarded like a bit of a wild card throughout his early ears, due in part to the fact that he could throw the ball harder than most other pitchers inside the history of baseball. It was this accolade that characterized his nine years inside Majors, and though it came (as it should for any hard throwing pitcher) at the cost of some control, the ‘wild card’ proved that the benefits far outweighed the expenses.
How is ‘Don’ best identified? Since the first pitcher ever to achieve a no-hitter on artificial grass, or under a dome? Because the pitcher who, during that historic game, struck out 14 batters and then finally clinched the game by striking out a person much more; the legend Hank Aaron? Or since the pitcher who set the record of 18 strike-outs in a single game? With so quite a few accolades in his career, it’s very difficult to say for what he is very best regarded.
In September of 1974, having earned high respect from fans and foes alike, not to mention his teammates, Don took the mound for what would turn out to become the final game of his career. He nearly threw 1 of his trademark no-hitters, allowing the Atlanta Braves only two hits in the 5 to nothing game. On the other hand, he was destined by no means to grace the mound again. Inside the following January, he was found in his car, parked in his own garage, with the engine running. He was dead. Was this a suicide? Or, was it a tragic accident? There doesn’t seem to have been any evidence that he intended to commit suicide, so the official report states his death as accidental.
As a mark of respect, the Astros retired Wilson’s range. This man whose life was dedicated towards club right until the extremely end would forever remain inside the memories of future players. The next season’s players wore a patch on their uniform emblazoned with Don’s number 40, like a fitting tribute to their fallen comrade. Even nowadays, fans all around the Houston area remember Don, the hard-thrower who gave everything he had to each and every game. He will never be forgotten.
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