An Ellwood City legend and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer will be receiving a state historical marker in his honor with a ceremony planned for later this month.
While playing for the Chicago Cubs during the 1930 Major League Baseball season, Ellwood City-born Lewis Robert “Hack” Wilson, slugged National League record 56 homeruns, topping Yankees slugger Babe Ruth’s effort that year. In that same season, he also drove in a Major League Baseball record 191 runs. His homerun record stood for 68 years. His 191 RBIs is still the Major League mark in that category.
Although his 10-year Major League Baseball career was rife with controversy due to his drinking and brawling, Hack Wilson’s accomplishments on the field were deemed worthy of recognition by his selection to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, by the Baseball Veteran’s committee in 1979.
source: Wikipedia.org
To honor his baseball accomplishments, the Ellwood City Area Historical Society is proud to sponsor a roadside historical marker by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission that will be dedicated near the Ellwood City High School Baseball field at 11:00 a.m. on Friday August 25, 2023.
The featured speaker for this event is Mr. John Racanelli, a Chicago lawyer and author from the Society of Baseball Research (SABR) and the founder and co-chair of SABR Baseball Landmarks research committee. Racanelli is a leading expert on Hack Wilson’s baseball career.
The public is invited to attend the ceremony recognizing an Ellwood City native’s extraordinary accomplishments.
More information on the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program is available online at www.PAHistoricalMarkers.com.
According to a search of the website, the Hack Wilson marker will be only the second marker in the Borough of Ellwood City, joining a Seamless Tube Industry marker that was dedicated in 1994 and resides at the SE corner of PA 351 (Lawrence Ave.) at 7th St., Ellwood City
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