William Crutcher "Big Bill" Lee (October 21, 1909 – June 15, 1977) was a
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 ...
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 played professionally for the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
, and
Boston Braves
The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...
during the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life and career
Lee was born in
Plaquemine, Louisiana
Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, ...
, and played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...
as a freshman for
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
.
He was originally a top prospect in the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
organization. In August 1933, Cardinals general manager
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...
called his counterpart with the Cubs,
William Veeck, Sr. and offered him two pitchers—Lee and
Clarence Heise. According to
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...
, one of Rickey's favorite tricks was to offer another team two players and trust that the other team would take the wrong one. In the case of Lee and Heise, Rickey knew that all but one Cubs pitcher was right-handed, and expected the Cubs to take Heise, a left-hander. However, on the advice of chief scout
Jack Doyle, the Cubs took Lee. As it turned out, Heise would make only one relief appearance in 1934, and was never heard from again. It was one of the few times where Rickey, who was legendary for fleecing
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
teams, ended up getting fleeced himself.
Lee spent 10 full seasons with the Cubs, as well as a pair of cameo appearances in 1947. He made his major league debut on April 29, 1934, with the Cubs. He saved Game 5 of the
1935 World Series
The 1935 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1935 season. The 32nd edition of the World Series, it matched the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs. The Tigers won in six games for their first championship i ...
at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...
, with his team on the verge of elimination, and his best year was in 1938 when he helped lead the Cubs to another
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
with a league-leading 22 wins and a 2.66 ERA. He was on the
National League All-Star Team twice when he played for the Cubs.
Lee played for the Phillies from 1943–1945 and for the Braves from 1945–1946. Lee developed eye problems which made it difficult for him to see the catcher's signs. Eyeglasses helped little, and he retired in 1947 while playing for the Cubs.
Lee's career marks were 169 wins, 157 losses and a 3.54 ERA. His 139 wins with the Cubs are still the ninth-most in franchise history.
Life after baseball
After retiring, Lee returned to Plaquemine, Louisiana, and had eye surgery for his detached retinas. He eventually lost sight in one eye Lee suffered a heart attack in 1976 while visiting in Texas and died on June 15, 1977, and is interred in Saint John Cemetery in Plaquemine.
Awards and honors
Lee was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1962.
References
Further reading
* ''The Chicago Cubs: Seasons at the Summit'' by Warren Wilbert, published by Sports Publishing LLC, 1997.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Bill
1909 births
1977 deaths
National League All-Stars
National League ERA champions
National League (baseball) wins champions
Philadelphia Phillies players
Chicago Cubs players
Boston Braves players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Louisiana
Greensboro Patriots players
Columbus Red Birds players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
People from Plaquemine, Louisiana
Scottdale Cardinals players
20th-century American sportsmen