William Milton Harris (June 23, 1900 – August 21, 1965) spent more than 40 years in baseball, serving as a

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, ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

, for six different

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 ...

organizations. Listed at , , Harris batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Wylie, Texas Wylie is a city and northeastern suburb of Dallas, that was once solely located in Collin County, but now extends into neighboring Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located on State Route 78 about northeast of cen ...

Playing career

Major leagues

He also pitched in parts of seven major league seasons 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 ...

(1923–24),

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 ...

(1931–34) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1938). In 121

appearances Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

, he posted a 24–22 record with 149

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 3.92

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 433.2

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

of work, including 37 starts, 13

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, two

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s, 55

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

and eight saves. His most productive season came for the 1932 Pirates, when he went 10–9 with a 3.64 ERA. Reds manager

Pat Moran Patrick Joseph Moran (February 7, 1876 – March 7, 1924) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1914. The year after his retirement, he became a manager, and he led two ...

died during 1924 spring training; his replacement,

Jack Hendricks John Charles Hendricks (April 9, 1875 – May 13, 1943) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball as an outfielder, but is best known as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds f ...

, was not as keen on Harris. On May 29, 1924, Harris was traded to the minor league

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 ...

in exchange for Hughie Critz. Harris joined the Pirates in the fall of 1931. Sportswriter Harry Grayson thought it was odd that while no major league team tried Harris after he won 19 games with Minneapolis in 1925 and 26 games with Asheville in 1928, Pittsburgh signed him during a year in which he lost 23 minor league games. Harris thought that it was because Galveston, with which he spent most of the season, was not a great ballclub-though posting a losing record, he completed 29 games, threw six shutouts, and posted a 2.60 ERA. On August 2, 1938, the Red Sox acquired Harris from the minor league

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

for

Johnny Marcum John Alfred Marcum (September 9, 1909 – September 10, 1984), nicknamed "Footsie" and "Moose", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Philadelphia Athletics, Bosto ...

and $20,000. The Red Sox, struggling to find effective pitchers, added Harris to their starting rotation.

Minor leagues

Harris collected 257

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

wins between 1921 and 1945. During the 1931 season, Harris threw a no-hitter with Galveston. He threw two more no-hitters for the 1935

of the

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

, though one of those was only seven innings. Sportswriter Harry Grayson in 1938 wrote that "Harris perhaps has been with more clubs than any other athlete in the history of the game." From 1939 through 1951, Harris worked in the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

system, pitching for

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

of the International League from 1939 to 1943, managing the

Erie Sailors The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994. Pre-1930s Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906–1907, 1913, 19 ...

of the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) from 1944 to 1945, and scouting between 1946 and 1951. He also served as a scout for 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 ...

(1952–56, 1960–62) and Washington Senators (1957–59).

Pitching style

Earlier in his career, Harris had an overhand delivery. In 1926, he broke a finger on his pitching hand while with the Millers. That prompted him to begin throwing sidearm. Grayson described him as having an "excellent sinker", as well as a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that was "fairly fast". Harris also threw a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, though Grayson thought it was his worst pitch.

Personal life

By 1938, Harris was living in

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The population was 29,435 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, where he grew cotton when he was not pitching. Harris died in

Indian Trail, North Carolina Indian Trail is a suburban town in Union County, North Carolina, United States. A part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, Indian Trail has grown rapidly in the 21st century, going from 1,942 residents in 1990 to 39,997 in 2020. History Foun ...

at age 65.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Bill Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players Boston Red Sox players New York Yankees scouts Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Winston-Salem Twins players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Asheville Tourists players Portsmouth Truckers players Dallas Steers players Waco Cubs players Galveston Buccaneers players Fort Worth Panthers players Albany Senators players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Jersey City Giants players Erie Sailors players Minor league baseball managers Baseball players from Rockwall County, Texas 1900 births 1965 deaths People from Wylie, Texas Baseball players from Collin County, Texas 20th-century American sportsmen