246. "Old Sarge" 7" x 10.5"

Size: 7 × 10.5 inches art print (not a comic book)
Availability: Pre-order ends Sunday, June 21st  at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET
Shipping: Expected to ship approximately 40–60 days after the purchase window closes. Estimated timeframe. Not guaranteed.

From the Artist:

Pop Fly #246: Old Sarge.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but sometimes when someone loves something so much, their enthusiasm for that thing rubs off on you. You start to see their reasons for loving it too and eventually end up loving it yourself.

Such is the case for Hoyt Wilhelm.

When I started Pop Fly six years ago, just a few months into the project, a gentleman by the name of Brett wrote to me. Brett is a huge Wilhelm fan and originally reached out about commissioning me to do a piece on him. If you've ever written me asking if I do commissions, you probably know what I told Brett. No, I don't do commissions.

But what Brett did was, literally over the next five years, lob a factoid over about Wilhelm every now and then with the intent to soft pitch the idea of me doing a Wilhelm piece.

Of course I stuck that idea in the rotating bingo cage of a brain I have and marinated on it. Each time Brett would write, I'd add a little more to that Hoyt Wilhelm ball bouncing around in there until... holy smokes... I really felt his story.

Brett's admiration for the man was certainly earned because this pitcher from decades ago really does have an amazing story.

Similar to many ballplayers whose careers were interrupted by WWII, Hoyt's career was delayed by war. He was a 29-year-old rookie in 1952 because he spent years overseas. He courageously fought in the Battle of the Bulge, was wounded, and earned the Purple Heart for his actions. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and when he made his major league debut, he did so with shrapnel lodged in his back, which remained there for the rest of his life. His nickname in the big leagues was "Old Sarge" because of his decorated military service.

That alone is tremendous in and of itself, but the 29-year-old rookie went on to play parts of 21 seasons and have a Hall of Fame career.

At the time, Wilhelm wasn't known as a "relief ace" because the role itself wasn't really viewed that way. The nine teams he played for used him differently than relievers had traditionally been used. Typically, relievers were brought in to get a starting pitcher out of a jam, but Wilhelm helped popularize the practice of coming in, trouble or not, to literally relieve the starter, as the name suggests.

In fact, Wilhelm became the first relief pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and helped bring the role to prominence.

And if you're interested, reliever is my favorite role in the game and it's not even close.

So Brett's enthusiasm for this career rubbed off on me, and I'm thrilled to finally put it to paper a whopping six years after the first pitch.

Thank you, Brett. Thank you all.