Today in Wheeling History: July 9--Walter Ray "Lefty" Hamilton, future baseball player, coach, and Wheeling Island pharmacist, was born in Frazeysburg, Ohio (1895).
Walter Ray "Lefty" Hamilton, born on July 9, 1895, in Frazeysburg, Ohio, became a prominent figure in Wheeling, West Virginia's baseball scene after his family moved to Wheeling Island. He attended Wheeling High School and Linsly Military Institute, showing promise in baseball. Hamilton's talent caught the attention of Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, leading to a spring training opportunity and a subsequent assignment to the New York State League. His baseball career was interrupted by World War I, during which he served in the American Expeditionary Force in France until the war's end on November 11, 1918. Upon returning, Hamilton played for several Ohio Valley teams, including the Bauers' ball club, Cambridge Red Sox, and the Eastern Ohio League's Tuscoras. In 1938, he transitioned to coaching, leading the newly formed Wheeling Post 1 American Legion team to their first state championship. Parallel to his baseball career, Hamilton established himself in the local business community, partnering with C.G. Buchanan in 1919 to run the Garden Pharmacy at 2 South Penn St., which later became known as Hamilton Island Pharmacy. He married Amy Northwood on October 7, 1919, and they had two children. Hamilton passed away on November 11, 1979, at the Veteran's Administration Center in Dayton, Ohio, leaving behind a rich legacy documented in a collection at the Ohio County Public Library, which includes scrapbooks compiled by his mother, Minnie Bell Hamilton, photographs, and personal reminiscences of Wheeling. In recognition of his contributions to baseball, a park in Williamson, West Virginia, was named "Lefty Hamilton Park" in his honor.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/5n6zue2a) (https://shorturl.at/Yhq9a) (https://shorturl.at/BWnyc) (https://shorturl.at/VEAlN) (https://shorturl.at/VxC90)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Williamson Parks and Recreation
Walter Ray "Lefty" Hamilton, born on July 9, 1895, in Frazeysburg, Ohio, became a prominent figure in Wheeling, West Virginia's baseball scene after his family moved to Wheeling Island. He attended Wheeling High School and Linsly Military Institute, showing promise in baseball. Hamilton's talent caught the attention of Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, leading to a spring training opportunity and a subsequent assignment to the New York State League. His baseball career was interrupted by World War I, during which he served in the American Expeditionary Force in France until the war's end on November 11, 1918. Upon returning, Hamilton played for several Ohio Valley teams, including the Bauers' ball club, Cambridge Red Sox, and the Eastern Ohio League's Tuscoras. In 1938, he transitioned to coaching, leading the newly formed Wheeling Post 1 American Legion team to their first state championship. Parallel to his baseball career, Hamilton established himself in the local business community, partnering with C.G. Buchanan in 1919 to run the Garden Pharmacy at 2 South Penn St., which later became known as Hamilton Island Pharmacy. He married Amy Northwood on October 7, 1919, and they had two children. Hamilton passed away on November 11, 1979, at the Veteran's Administration Center in Dayton, Ohio, leaving behind a rich legacy documented in a collection at the Ohio County Public Library, which includes scrapbooks compiled by his mother, Minnie Bell Hamilton, photographs, and personal reminiscences of Wheeling. In recognition of his contributions to baseball, a park in Williamson, West Virginia, was named "Lefty Hamilton Park" in his honor.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/5n6zue2a) (https://shorturl.at/Yhq9a) (https://shorturl.at/BWnyc) (https://shorturl.at/VEAlN) (https://shorturl.at/VxC90)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Williamson Parks and Recreation
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