“Dandy” Wood, as he was known in some circles, played for six teams in his 13 year career as an outfielder known to have a rifle arm, in 1879 he reportedly made a throw that measured 366 feet in distance.
The following year Wood made his first appearance in the Majors with the Worcester Ruby Legs where he batted .245 as a rookie. As a Ruby Leg he took part in a triple play just one week into his career. He also was on the winning team in the first perfect game thrown in MLB history on June 12, 1880, when teammate Lee Richmond set down 27 Cleveland Blues batters in a row.
Wood’s best statistical year was in 1890 with the Philadelphia Quakers when he hit 9 home runs, batted in 102 runs and hit .289. For his career the left-handed hitter batted .273 with 68 home runs.
In 2001 the Prince Edward Island native was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Colorization by Natalia Valiukevich
