William Earl Essick (December 18, 1880 – October 12, 1951), nicknamed "Vinegar Bill", was an American professional baseball

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, ...

in the Major Leagues. A native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he attended Knox College and

Lombard College Lombard College was a Universalist college located in Galesburg, Illinois. History Lombard College was founded in 1853 by the Universalist Church as the Illinois Liberal Institute. In 1855, however, a major fire damaged much of the college, p ...

. Essick pitched for the

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

during the seasons of 1906 and 1907. He then became a longtime minor-league manager and team executive before joining the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 1935 as a scout. According to author Jim Sandoval's 2011 book ''Can He Play? A Look at Baseball's Scouts and Their Profession'', Essick was credited with discovering or signing a number of Yankee future stars, including

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Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingto ...

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash", in reference to the comic-book character '' Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Y ...

and

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed "the Major", was an American catcher, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor o ...

. He retired in 1950 and succumbed to heart disease a year later. As a pitcher, Essick had a remarkable 1905 season in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

, throwing an astronomical 466.1 innings and ending up with a won-lost record of 23–30. He was 19–6 the following season before being called up to the major leagues by Cincinnati and making his

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 ...

debut on September 12, 1906. Sandoval wrote that Essick's nickname originated because the German word for vinegar is "Essig."

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1880 births 1951 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from LaSalle County, Illinois Cincinnati Reds players Minor league baseball managers Salt Lake City Elders players Portland Giants players Portland Beavers players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Knox Prairie Fire baseball players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Toledo Mud Hens players South Bend Benders players Grand Rapids Grads players Grand Rapids Black Sox players Grand Rapids Bill-eds players New York Yankees scouts 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub