Elliot Taylor "Bump" Wills (born July 27, 1952 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

) is a former second baseman

Second baseman

Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 (1977–81) and Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 (1982). He also played two seasons in Japan for the Hankyu Braves (1983–84). He is the son of Maury Wills

Maury Wills

Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...

, the former Major League shortstop who later managed

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 the Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

.

His career batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 was .266.

Wills and teammate Toby Harrah

Toby Harrah

Colbert Dale Harrah is a former professional baseball player who played with the Texas Rangers both before and after their 1971 franchise shift before later being traded to the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees...

 hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on Saturday, August 27, 1977, the only time this feat has ever occurred in a Major League Baseball game. (Harrah's HR came on a drive to the right-center field gap; on the play, Yankee

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 outfielders Lou Piniella

Lou Piniella

Louis Victor Piniella is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager...

 and Mickey Rivers

Mickey Rivers

John Milton "Mickey" Rivers is a former Major League Baseball player from 1970-1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers...

 collided and knocked each other out. By the time another player was able to retrieve the ball, Harrah was being waved home. When asked about the bizarre play, Piniella said "I have a hard time understanding Mickey sometimes." Also in 1977, Wills controversially replaced Lenny Randle

Lenny Randle

Leonard Shenoff Randle is a former Major League Baseball player. He was the first-round pick of the Washington Senators in the secondary phase of the June 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, tenth overall.-Early years:...

 at second base, which led to Randle's punching Rangers manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 Frank Lucchesi

Frank Lucchesi

Frank Joseph Lucchesi is a former manager in Major League Baseball who ran the Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs...

 in the face.
In 1978 Wills stole 52 bases, breaking Dave Nelson

Dave Nelson

David Earl Nelson is a former Major League Baseball player and one of the current broadcasters for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team on Fox Sports Wisconsin...

's single-season franchise record of 51 in ; the number remains a Ranger record for thefts in a season.
Wills retired at the end of the 1982 season and later played in Japan.

Spokane

Bump Wills now lives in Spokane, Washington and coaches the Central Valley Bears. He regularly manages clinics for younger players in the area as well.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• List of second generation MLB players

External links