Maury Wills, the former Dodgers shortstop who revolutionized the running game in the major leagues, passed away on Monday night at the age of 89, the team announced today.
Wills won the 1962 National League Most Valuable Player Award after becoming the first player in baseball’s modern era to steal 100 bases in a season. In fact, no one had stolen more than 63 bases since Ty Cobb in 1916, and league leaders were generally in the 20s and 30s for the three or four decades before Wills stole 104.
Wills’ base-stealing exploits ushered in the era of Lou Brock, which eventually led to Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, and Vince Coleman.