KEY Magazine Fort Worth

Cats to Retire Maury Will’s Jersey

The Fort Worth Cats will retire Maury Wills’ No. 6 Cats jersey during a pre-game ceremony before the Fort Worth-Shreveport game, Saturday, June 18 at LaGrave Field. This marks the third jersey retired in the history of the Cats.

In 2003, the Cats retired Bobby Bragan’s No. 10 jersey. The team retired Duke Snider’s No. 4 Cats jersey in 2004.

Wills, the first African-American to play for Fort Worth, was the starting shortstop for the Cats in 1955. He ended up batting .202 in 123 games. Wills finished the season with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 326 at bats. He led the Cats with 12 stolen bases.

The 1955 Cats’ roster included five players that would go on to manage in the majors. Maury Wills, Dick Williams, Sparky Anderson, Danny Ozark and Norm Sherry all spent time managing in the big leagues.

Wills spent more than eight years in the minors before the Dodgers brought him up for good in 1959. His 50 stolen bases in 1960 were more than any National League player had stolen in a season since Max Carey’s 51 in 1923. When Wills stole 104 bases in 1962, he broke the major league record of 96 that Ty Cobb had set in 1915.

The former Fort Worth Cat was named the National League MVP in 1962. He went on to lead the National League in stolen bases in six straight seasons (1960-65) and ended his career with a total of 585 steals. Maury was a key ingredient on the Dodgers for 14 years and helped lead the team to World Series titles in 1959, 1963 and 1965.

Wills became the majors’ second African-American manager when Seattle hired him to replace Darrell Johnson in 1980. The former Dodger great has worked for nine different major league teams, teaching the art of base running and stealing. Wills is currently Vice President of Special Projects for the Fort Worth Cats.

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