William Byrd (July 15, 1907 – January 4, 1991) 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 ...
player in the
Negro leagues
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
. Born in
Canton, Georgia
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000.
Geography
Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.2273 ...
, he was a right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
. He was named in eight All-Star games for six seasons. Byrd also saw action with the
Criollos de Caguas and
Cangrejeros de Santurce clubs of the
Puerto Rico Winter League, where he was considered one of the best hurlers. He died at age 83 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
Baseball career
Byrd started his major career in 1933 with the Columbus Blue Birds in the Negro National League. He went 3–8 that year, pitching a 4.26 ERA in thirteen games while recording one save in 95 innings pitched. He led the league in losses along with walks per nine innings with 1.1. He moved to the Cleveland Red Sox the following year and struggled with a 2–8 record to once again lead the league in losses. He pitched in eleven games in 58.2 innings of work. In 1936, he moved over to the Columbus Elite Giants. While he went 2–3 with a 5.66 ERA, he would find a home with a team that he pitched with for a majority of the rest of his career as the team played in two further cities (Washington and Baltimore). He went 9–4 in 1936 with sixteen games pitched, leading the league with two shutouts while being named to his first East–West All-Star Game. The following year, he went 4–3 with a 5.37 ERA in 53.2 innings pitched. He won seven games each in both 1938 and 1939, and he was named to both East–West games in the latter year. In that year, the Giants were invited to a four-team playoff to determine the pennant. Against the
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley.
History
Formation
The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark ...
, he appeared in two games (one start) and went 1–0 while allowing four runs in 11.2 innings of work as the Giants three games to one. Byrd (a career .262 batter) also helped his case by going 2-for-3 with a home run during the series. In the Championship Series against the
Homestead Grays
The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States.
The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cum ...
(led by
Vic Harris as manager, who had won the previous two league pennants) he started two games and went 1–1 while allowing seven runs (six earned) in seventeen innings pitched as the Giants (who had
Jonas Gaines win two games to go with Byrd's win) pulled off the upset in five games and beat the Grays (the team would not lose another pennant until 1946).
He took off 1940 but returned for the 1941 season and excelled. He led the league with a 2.02 ERA while going 8–3 in thirteen games pitched in 89 innings while making an East–West game. In 1942, he led the league in wins with ten while going 10–3 with a 2.91 ERA while collecting a save in 99 innings. In 1943 and 1944, he would play for both the Elite Giants and the Philadelphia Stars. He went 10–5 in 1943 while leading the league in strikeouts (94) and pitching a career high 135 innings. In 1944, he went 5–5 in 69 innings. He returned to pitch just for the Elite Giants for the remaining four seasons of his career. In 1945, he led the league in wins with eleven along with complete games (twelve), strikeouts (88) while going 11–4 with a 2.83 ERA. He went 5–8 in 1946 but made two East–West games. In 1947, he went 8–5 with a 2.61 ERA with 120.2 innings pitched. In his final major league season in 1948, he led the league in wins and innings with a 10–4 record in 123.1 innings while having a 1.68 ERA. His final game in the Negro leagues was in the postseason. The Giants were tasked against the Grays for the league pennant with the chance to go to the
1948 Negro World Series
The 1948 Negro World Series was the championship tournament for the 1948 season of Negro league baseball. It was the seventh edition of the second incarnation of the Negro World Series and the eleventh overall played. It was a best-of-seven playof ...
. He pitched 14.1 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) in two appearances with one start, and he threw a complete game while going 1–0, although the Giants lost the Series. He continued to play with the Giants until 1950, although by that time the league had suffered in quality.
Owing to his tenure in Baltimore, he ranks as the all-time leader in pitching categories, and he also ranks as having the most
Wins above replacement (28.7) among all Elite Giants.
Legacy
Byrd finished in the top three in the leaderboards for most wins on seven occasions, which is tied for seventh best all-time in major league history. He was among the top ten in win-loss percentage ten times (T-7th), walks per nine innings thirteen times (9th), games played eleven times (4th) along with hits twelve times (T-7th) and earned runs eleven times (tied for most ever).
At age 45, Byrd received votes listing him on the 1952 ''
Pittsburgh Courier
The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States.
It was acquired in 1965 by ...
'' player-voted poll of the Negro leagues' best players ever.
["1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players"](_blank)
/ref>
Personal life and death
After he retired, he dabbled in semi-pro ball while working at the General Electric Company in Philadelphia for twenty years. He died on January 4, 1991, and was interred at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
References
External links
an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Bill
1907 births
1991 deaths
African-American baseball players
Baltimore Elite Giants players
Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Cherokee County, Georgia
Baseball players from Philadelphia
Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players
Chicago American Giants players
Cleveland Red Sox players
Columbus Blue Birds players
Columbus Elite Giants players
Criollos de Caguas players
Homestead Grays players
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers
Sportspeople from Canton, Georgia
Philadelphia Stars players
Washington Elite Giants players