{{Short description|American baseball player (1941–2008)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Nick Willhite |image=Nick Willhite.JPG |position=Pitcher |birth_date={{Birth date|1941|1|27}} |birth_place=Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|2008|12|14|1941|1|27}} |death_place=Alpine, Utah, U.S. |bats=Left |throws=Left |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=June 16 |debutyear=1963 |debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=June 23 |finalyear=1967 |finalteam=New York Mets |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=6–12 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=4.55 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=118 |teams= *Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|1963}}–{{mlby|1964}}) *Washington Senators ({{mlby|1965}}) *Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|1965}}–{{mlby|1966}}) *California Angels ({{mlby|1967}}) *New York Mets ({{mlby|1967}}) }} '''Jon Nicholas Willhite''' (January 27, 1941 – December 14, 2008) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Willhite grew up in Denver, Colorado and graduated from South High School in 1959. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959 and was called up to Major League Baseball in 1963 and pitched from 1963 to 1967 for the Dodgers, Washington Senators, California Angels and New York Mets.
Willhite was with the Dodgers when they won the 1965 World Series, but he did not pitch in the series. He was out of baseball by age 26, with an overall record of 6–12 and a 4.55 ERA.
Willhite later worked as a pitching coach at Brigham Young University and in the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees organizations.
Willhite was an alcoholic by the time he was 22 years old<ref name="save">{{cite news |last1=Cohn |first1=Bob |title=A save beyond measure |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-a-save-beyond-measure/148305442/ |access-date=29 May 2024 |work=Arizona Republic |date=28 July 1991 |pages=241}}</ref> and was sometimes drunk on the field.<ref name="provo">{{cite news |last1=Hudson |first1=Bob |title=Former big leaguer rebuilds life; now helping others do the same |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-former-big-leaguer-rebu/148305296/ |access-date=29 May 2024 |work=The Daily Herald |date=30 May 1992 |page=B7}}</ref> Willhite was married and divorced three times<ref name="save" /> and later became addicted to drugs as well as alcohol.<ref name="provo" /> In 1989, he hit rock bottom after selling his World Series ring. He then reached out to another former Dodger pitcher, Stan Williams, for help. He ultimately received that help from the Baseball Assistance Team, which assists former baseball players in need. Willhite entered a treatment center in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1989<ref name="save" /> and later became an addictions counselor after graduating from the University of Utah.<ref name="provo" />
Willhite died of cancer at his son's home in Alpine, Utah.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 19, 2008 |title=Former Dodgers pitcher Willhite dies |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story?id=3782467 |accessdate=2025-03-10 |work=ESPN.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=124281 |br=w/willhni01 |fangraphs=1013967 |retro=Pwilln101 |brm=willhi001jon}}
{{1965 Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willhite, Nick}} Category:1941 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Albuquerque Dukes players Category:BYU Cougars baseball coaches Category:California Angels players Category:Deaths from cancer in Utah Category:Denver Bears players Category:Greenville Spinners players Category:Jacksonville Suns players Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Minor league baseball coaches Category:Navegantes del Magallanes players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:New York Mets players Category:Northern Colorado Bears baseball players Category:Omaha Dodgers players Category:Omaha Royals players Category:Reno Silver Sox players Category:San Antonio Missions players Category:Spokane Indians players Category:Baseball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma Category:Tacoma Cubs players Category:Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Category:Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Category:University of Utah alumni Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:South High School (Denver, Colorado) alumni
{{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub}}