Les Willis

Who was Les Willis?

Lester Evans Willis was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who spent 12 seasons in minor league baseball before seeing his only Major League service as a 39-year-old rookie for the 1947 Cleveland Indians. The native of Nacogdoches, Texas, stood 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds.

Willis was selected by Cleveland in the 1946 Rule 5 draft after he won 18 of 25 decisions with a sparkling 2.37 earned run average for the Memphis Chickasaws of the Double-A Southern Association. He worked in 22 games for the 1947 Indians. His eleventh and twelfth appearances were his only starting assignments. On July 6, in the first game of a doubleheader, he worked six innings against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. He gave up eight hits and three runs, but only one was earned. Chicago prevailed 3–2 behind Eddie Lopat, with Willis taking the loss. Then, on July 12, in the second game of a twin bill, Willis lasted 4⅔ innings in a home start against the Philadelphia Athletics and was not as effective, again surrendering eight hits but yielding four runs, all earned.