William Edward "Kitty" Bransfield (January 7, 1875 – May 1, 1947) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1898 to 1911 for the Boston Beaneaters, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs.

Playing career

Bransfield played a season of semipro baseball with a team in Grafton in 1897. After a brief major league stint with Boston in 1898, Bransfield returned to the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1901. He played four seasons with the team, most notably serving as the Pirates first baseman in 1903, the year in which the team lost the inaugural World Series to Boston. He subsequently played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. In 1330 games over 12 seasons, Bransfield posted a .270

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1351-for-4999) with 529 runs, 225 doubles, 75 triples, 13

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 637 RBI, 175 stolen bases, 221 bases on balls, .304 on-base percentage, and .353 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .983 fielding percentage. In the

1903 World Series The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, wi ...

, he hit .207 (6-for-29) with 3 runs and 1 RBI.

Later life

After his playing career, Bransfield spent time as an umpire, scout, and manager. He managed the Montreal club briefly, then umpired in the Eastern and New England Leagues from 1915 to 1921. He was then signed as a scout for the Chicago Cubs for the 1922 season. In 1923, he managed the Waterbury club in the New England League.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bransfield, Kitty 1875 births 1947 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball first basemen Boston Beaneaters players Pittsburgh Pirates players Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Cubs players Chicago Cubs scouts Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Montreal Royals managers Major League Baseball umpires Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Newport Colts players