William Henry Abstein (February 2, 1883 – April 8, 1940Bsseball Encyclopedia, Joseph L. Reichler, ed., MacMillan Publishing, NY, 1985:667), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and amateur soccer player. He played all or part of three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player, from 1906 to 1910, primarily as a

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 for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. He played in 170 games, with 150 hits, one home run, 76 RBI and a batting average of .242. He played for Pittsburgh during the 1909 World Series, appearing in all seven games and getting six hits. Abstein spent the 1904–05 St. Louis Association Foot Ball League season with Diel F.C. which was managed by Thomas Cahill. He later played for Memphis Chicks in the Southern League. During those years, he also played soccer as a midfielder for St. Leo's in the

St. Louis Soccer League The St. Louis Soccer League was a professional soccer league in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1915 With four teams drawn from two amateur leagues, it was at the time the country's only pro soccer league. It folded in 1938. History The league ...

during the off-season.January 6, 1912 Sporting Life
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Soccer players from St. Louis Major League Baseball infielders Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Houston Wanderers players Shreveport Pirates (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Jersey City Skeeters players Memphis Chickasaws players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Seattle Giants players Wichita Witches players Colorado Springs Millionaires players Baseball players from St. Louis St. Louis Soccer League players St. Leo's (soccer team) players 1883 births 1940 deaths {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub