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White Sox Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood Dies at 84

The longtime White Sox left-hander set the Live Ball Era single-season innings mark with 376 2/3 in 1972.

Overview

  • The White Sox announced Wood died Saturday at age 84, and no cause of death had been disclosed as of Sunday evening.
  • Wood was a three-time All-Star across 17 MLB seasons with the Red Sox, Pirates and White Sox, thriving as a starter from 1971 to 1975.
  • Under the guidance of Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm in Chicago, he fully adopted the knuckleball after early-career struggles.
  • He threw an unmatched workload in the early 1970s, including 376 2/3 innings in 1972 and league-leading starts in four seasons.
  • His peak ended after a Ron LeFlore line drive broke his kneecap in May 1976, and he retired with a 164–156 record and a 3.24 ERA in 2,684 innings.