Dave Wickersham

David Clifford Wickersham (September 27, 1935 – June 18, 2022) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals from 1960 to 1969.

Early life Wickersham was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1935. He attended high school in East Springfield, where he excelled in several sports. He attended Taylor University. He later attended Ohio University, He was acquired by the Kansas City Athletics in the 1959 minor league draft. In 1962, he posted an 11–4 win–loss record and led American League pitchers with a .733 winning percentage, and went 12–15 with a 3.78 earned run average (ERA) the following year.

Wickersham enjoyed his most productive season for Detroit in 1964, when he went 19–12 with a 3.44 ERA and posted career-numbers in strikeouts (164), starts (36), complete games (11), appearances (40), and innings pitched (254.0). He was in consideration that year in the American League MVP vote.

Wickersham also pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. He was traded by the Tigers to the Pirates for Dennis Ribant on November 28, 1967. He played his final major league game on July 26, 1969, at the age of 33. Over his 10-season MLB career, Wickersham posted a 68–57 record with 638 strikeouts and a 3.66 ERA in 1,123 innings, including 29 complete games, five shutouts and 18 saves.

In 1989, Wickersham was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Wickersham died on June 18, 2022, at the age of 86.