Joe Wilhoit

Joseph William Wilhoit (December 20, 1885 – September 25, 1930) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a right fielder from 1916 through 1919 for the Boston Braves (1916–1917), Pittsburgh Pirates (1917), New York Giants (1917–1918), and Boston Red Sox (1919). Listed at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg), Wilhoit batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A native of Hiawatha, Kansas, he attended DePaul University.

In a four-season career, Wilhoit was a .257 hitter (201-for-782) with three home runs and 73 RBI in 283 games, including 93 runs, 23 doubles, nine triples, 28 stolen bases, and a .323 on-base percentage. He also appeared in Games 2 and 6 of the 1917 World Series as a pinch-hitter and went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Wilhoit died at the age of 44 in Santa Barbara, California.

He was married to Zulekiah Katherine Hicks, who worked as the personal secretary to one of the top Generals during World War I, at the Department of War.

After the war, they moved around the country following Joe's baseball career, eventually settling in Santa Barbara Ca. They opened up a luggage store on State Street, called Wilhoit's Luggage. It was later sold to her top salesman Lindy Lindhorst, who renamed it Lindys. After his death, his wife purchased and operated the Elwood Hotel in Goleta CA, N of Santa Barbara. For many years, it was the only hotel in the area, and was located not far from where the Japanese shelled some oil wells located on the coastline near Elwood, CA. She worked at the Disciplinary Barracks which were operated in the Camp Cook property in Lompoc, CA. The facility was eventually changed to the Federal Prison at Lompoc.

Zulekiah was born in a small town near Pulaski VA and was the third of 4 children. Her siblings were: Maimen, John Thompson, and James William (my father). They later moved to Madisonville, TN where Senator Estes Kevauver was one of their childhood friends. The Senator later ran as the Vice Presidential Candidate with Adlai Stevenson.