Willie Wells

Biography

Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "the Devil", was an American professional baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America. Wells was a fast base-runner who hit for both power and average. He was at his finest with his glove, committing almost no errors and having the speed to run down anything that came in his direction. He is widely regarded as the top Black shortstop of his era and produced the three greatest single-season performances in Negro Major League history by wins above replacement (WAR), recording 6.9 WAR in 1927, 6.7 WAR in 1929, and 6.5 WAR in 1930. He also taught Hall-of-Fame second baseman Jackie Robinson how to turn a double play.

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