William Edward Abernathie (January 30, 1929 – February 19, 2006) was a professional baseball pitcher in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Abernathie played high school baseball at Colton High School in

Colton, California Colton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Nicknamed "Hub City", Colton is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is a suburb of San Bernardino, approximately south of the city's downtown. The populatio ...

, and after graduating was signed by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in 1948. He began his professional career that year with the

Tucson Cowboys Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson metropolitan s ...

of the

Arizona–Texas League The Arizona–Texas League was a Class D level American minor league baseball league that existed for nine seasons, from 1931–32, 1937–41, 1947–50 and 1952-54. In 1951, the Arizona-Texas loop merged with the Sunset League (based primarily ...

. In 35 games, he had a 17–14 win-loss record and a 4.63

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 239

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. In 1949, he spent the year with Tucson, and had a 19–8 record, a 5.04 ERA and 252 innings pitched in 37 games. The following year, he was promoted to the

Dayton Indians The Central League was a minor league baseball league that operated sporadically in 1900, from 1903–1917, 1920–1922, 1926, 1928–1930, 1934, and 1948–1951. In 1926, the league merged mid-season with the Michigan State Leagu ...

, and had a 13–8 record and a 3.54 ERA in 30 games. In 1951, Abernathie spent the year with the

Dallas Eagles Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and had a 16–16 record and a 2.84 ERA in 37 games. After the season, the Indians purchased his contract and planned to have him compete for a roster spot in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He did not win a roster spot during the spring, and spent 1952 with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, and had an 11–9 record in 34 games for the team. After the season ended, he was promoted to the Indians roster. His only appearance came on September 28 in relief of

Bob Chakales Robert Edwards Chakales ha-kuh'-les(August 10, 1927 – February 18, 2010) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with four clubs between the 1951 and 1957 seasons. Listed at 6'1", 185 lb., Chakales batted and threw rig ...

. He pitched the final two innings and allowed three runs, but got the save as the Indians won, 11–6. Abernathie spent the following year with Indianapolis, and had a 4–9 record in 15 games. At the end of the 1953 season, Abernathie was traded to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

with cash for

Rocky Nelson Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of nine seasons between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh P ...

. After playing in one game for the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

in 1954, Abernathie joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, and served until mid-1956 when he went back to playing baseball and joined the San Francisco Seals. He had a 2.63 ERA for the Seals in 36 games in 1956, then had a 13–2 record and a 4.65 ERA the following year over 45 games. He then spent the 1958 season with the

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

, the

Houston Buffaloes The Houston Buffaloes, Houston Buffalos, or Buffs were an American minor league baseball team, and were the first minor league team to be affiliated with a Major League Baseball, Major League franchise, which was the St. Louis Cardinals. The clu ...

, the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

, and the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, retiring at the end of the season. After retiring, Abernathie became a detective in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathie, Bill 1929 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century United States Marines Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Torrance, California Cleveland Indians players Tucson Cowboys players Dayton Indians players Dallas Eagles players Indianapolis Indians players Montreal Royals players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Memphis Chickasaws players Salt Lake City Bees players Houston Buffaloes players Sportspeople from Colton, California Baseball players from San Bernardino County, California Colton High School (California) alumni