Red Wilson Robert James " Red " Wilson ( born March 7 , 1929 ) is a former professional baseball and college football player . He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox ( 1951 – 1954 ) , Detroit Tigers ( 1954 – 60 ) , and Cleveland Indians ( 1960 ) , primarily as a catcher . University of Wisconsin . Born in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , Wilson attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he was a star football player for the Badgers . Wilson won Most Valuable Player honor as the center for the Badgers in 1947 and 1948 . He was also an all - conference center in 1947 . In his senior year , 1949 , Wilson was the team captain and won the Big Ten Most Valuable Player award as an end . Wilson also led the Badgers baseball team in batting with batting averages of . 342 and . 426 in 1948 and 1949 . He led the Badgers to a 17 – 7 record and a spot in the 1950 College World Series . Wilson graduated from Wisconsin in 1951 as an insurance major . Major League Baseball . Wilson was drafted in the 4th round of the 1950 NFL draft ( 52nd pick overall ) by the Cleveland Browns under Paul Brown , but opted for a baseball career after leaving Wisconsin . He was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free ageint in 1950 , playing 85 games for the White Sox from 1951 to 1953 . In May 1954 , Wilson was traded by the White Sox to the Tigers for Matt Batts . Wilson played for the Tigers for 7 years from 1954 to 1960 . Wilson ended his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1960 . Wilson was the primary catcher for Tigers pitcher Frank Lary , who was known as " " ' The Yankee Killer " " because of his 16 – 3 record against the Yankees with Wilson catching . Wilson batted . 354 in the 21 games where he was paired with Lary against the Yankees - 96 points above Wilson ' s career average . Wilson ' s best season was 1958 when he played in career - high 103 games , hit for a . 299 batting average and a . 373 on base percentage . He also stole 10 bases , 8th best in the American League . Wilson also had an excellent year as a catcher in 1958 , with a Range factor of 5 . 93 - - 0 . 59 points ahead of the league average for catchers . On July 20 of that year , he caught Jim Bunning ' s no - hitter . The following year ( 1959 ) , Wilson had a career - high Range factor of 6 . 23 - - 0 . 92 points above the league average . Overview . In 602 Major League Baseball games ( 580 as a catcher ) , Wilson hit for a . 258 batting average and a . 338 on base percentage . On December 14 , 1960 , Wilson was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft , but he retired rather than continue his playing career . ( Pitcher Ted Bowsfield was sent by Cleveland to the Angels in Wilson ' s stead . ) Wilson ' s 1958 baseball card , Topps No . 213 , showed him in a truly bizarre pose . The company painted out the natural background of the pictures that year and , in a photo showing Wilson swinging his bat , painted the " bat " out of the picture too - - showing Wilson looking as if his right arm had been amputated a few inches below the shoulder . Later life . After his playing career , Wilson was a founder and President of the Westgate Bank in Madison , Wisconsin . He was also President of the Wisconsin Alumni Association from 1971 to 1972 . Wilson was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 .