Retired major league pitcher Jake Wade dies at 93

Thursday Feb 2, 2006 5:21 PM

WILDWOOD, N.C. (AP) - Jake Wade, who broke into the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers and played for five other teams in the 1930s and '40s, died at his home at age 93, his family said Thursday.

Nicknamed "Whistling Jack,'' Wade died late Wednesday. He had a stroke about four years ago in the coastal North Carolina home where he returned to after retiring from baseball in 1950, said grandson Charles B. Wallace.

Wade had 27-40 career record and a 5.00 ERA during eight major league seasons with the Tigers, the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, before winding up with the Washington Senators and the New York Yankees in 1946. He played with minor league teams in 1940 and 1941, and served in the military in 1945, said his daughter, Sara Wallace of New Orleans.

The left-hander had his best season in Detroit in 1937, when he was 7-10 in 33 games.

After his release by the Tigers in 1939, he never won more than five games in a season.

His younger brother, Ben, pitched in the NL in the 1950s with Chicago, Brooklyn, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

After leaving baseball, Wade worked as an electronics repair technician at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in nearby Havelock until his retirement in 1976, Sara Wallace said.

Wade's wife, Rosalie, died last year, his daughter said. Other survivors are sons, Jacob Fields Wade III of Houston and William Wade of Atlanta; and daughter, Rebecca Wade Davis of Bowie, Md.

The News & Observer

Feb 03, 2006

Jacob Fields Wade, Jr., 93, of Newport, died Wednesday,
February 1, 2006, at his residence.

Mr. Wade was member of Wildwood Presbyterian Church.

Services will be held 11:00 a.m. Monday at Wildwood Presbyterian Church with Rev. Louie Andrews, Jr. officiating. Burial will follow in Bayview Cemetery.

He is survived by two sons, Jacob Fields Wade, III of Houston, TX and William Albert Wade of Atlanta, GA; two daughters, Rebecca Davis of Bourne, MD and Sara Wade Wallace of New Orleans, LA; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Rosalie Watson Wade; and a daughter, Jo Ann Wade Eaves.

The family will receive friends 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the home, 316 Wildwood Road, prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Wildwood Presbyterian Church, 340 Wildwood Rd., Newport, NC 28570; or to the Jo Ann Eaves Scholarship at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC.