Sidney Hudson

Sidney Charles Hudson January 3, 1915 October 10, 2008 Sidney Charles Hudson of Waco passed away Friday, October 10, 2008. Services will be at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 15 at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church with Rev. Ron Durham officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, October 14 at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. Sid was born January 3, 1915 in Coalfield, Tennessee to Henry Martin Hudson and Adelaide Frances Weatherford Hudson; one of twelve children brought up during the Great Depression. Sid spent his life playing baseball. He began his professional baseball career in 1939 with the Sanford Lookouts of the Florida State League. That season, he recorded a 24-4 record with an ERA of 1.79 and batted .338. The following year, the Washington Senators purchased Sid's contract and he posted a 17-16 mark in his first major league campaign, hurling two one-hit games. In 1941 and 1942, he earned berths on the American League All-Star teams. Sid enlisted in the United States Army on October 15, 1942 and was assigned to the 79th Air Base Squadron at Waco Army Air Field. While stationed in Waco, he pitched for the WAAF Wolves and was selected for the All-Army team in November 1943. While in Waco, Sid met Marion Frances Ferguson and they were married on December 28, 1944. In March 1945, Sid traveled to the Pacific Theater for a series of exhibition games with the 73rd Bombardment Wing and was stationed on Saipan when WWII ended. Following his discharge from active duty, Sid rejoined the Senators and pitched for the franchise until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in June 1952. He ended his playing career with the Red Sox and retired as an active player after the 1954 season, finishing with a lifetime mark of 104 wins and 152 losses. On April 27, 1947, Sid started against New York's Spud Chandler as the Yankees honored Hall of Famer Babe Ruth in pre-game ceremonies. Before a capacity Yankee Stadium crowd, he singled in the eighth inning and scored the game's only run in the 1-0 shutout. From 1955 to 1960, Sid scouted for the Red Sox and in 1961joined the expansion Washington Senators as pitching coach. For the next 25 years, he served in various capacities with the Senators, which relocated to Arlington in 1972, and was renamed the Texas Rangers. He served as the first pitching coach of the Texas Rangers with manager, Ted Williams. Sid concluded his baseball career as pitching coach at Baylor University retiring in 1992. Spanning 56 years of baseball, Sid played, competed and coached with some of the greatest individuals ever associated with the National Pastime. Sid and Marion made Waco their home in 1955. They were members of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church for over 50 years where Sid was a faithful member of the Frank Wilson Sunday School class. Sid and Marion were married for 64 years, until Marion passed away in May of this year. Survivors include daughters, Carolyn Fisher and husband, John B. Fisher, III of Waco and Nancy Fields and husband Randy Fields of San Antonio; grandchildren, Charlie Hays, Sam Hays and wife, Julie of Waco, Ellan Shelton and husband, Andrew of Chicago, IL, Rebecca Fields of Oxford, England, Travis Fields of Bangkok, Thailand and Elizabeth Fields of College Station; along with many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. Pallbearers will be grandchildren, Charlie Hays, Sam Hays, Ellan Shelton, and Elizabeth Fields, and nephews, Alan McFalls and Richard McFalls. Honorary pallbearers will be Bill Parks, Bob Mitchell, Mickey Sullivan, John Hillman, Horner Shelton, Tommy McWilliams, Edgar Jablonowski and Charlie McGregor. The family would like to thank Dr. Gary Barbin for his devoted services to Sid and Marion. A special thanks to the staff of St. Elizabeth's at Providence Park, Bluebonnet Hospice and our special friend, John Hillman. Most especially, we want to thank Heart and Home, Paul and Ann Gibson, DeeDee Eastland and Renee Jefferson for their loving care of Daddy these past months. The family requests memorials be made to Columbus Avenue Baptist Church or the charity of your choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com. Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey