William Beneditto Renna (October 14, 1924 – June 19, 2014) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

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 ...

, playing mainly as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for four teams in part of five seasons spanning –. Listed at , , Renna batted and threw right-handed. Nicknamed "Big Bill", he was one of the first of several

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

graduates to reach the Major League level. Born in

Hanford, California Hanford is the most populous city and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 57,990 at the 2020 United States census, ...

, Renna was the son of William and Christina Renna. He graduated from Hanford Union High School in 1942, and attended

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

before joining the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

and serving in the South Pacific during World War II. After discharge, Renna attended

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

before transferring to SCU in 1947, where he was an outstanding athlete while playing baseball, basketball and football. Renna played in the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

in 1949 and was selected for the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n team that year. Bill's first year in pro baseball was with the 1949 Twin Falls Cowboys. Bill's manager with that team, Charlie Metro, had this to say about him: "Bill Renna was a big football player at Santa Clara who the Yankees signed and sent to Twin Falls his first year. He hit like heck up there, and they called him 'Bull,' because he was a big guy. He was a delight to have on the team.... I had difficulty with the college players. They had their minds set on the way they wanted to play. Not all of them were problems though. Bill Renna, from Santa Clara College, was great, one of the finest players I had enjoyed handling." Renna entered the majors in 1953 with 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 ...

, playing one season for them before joining the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

(1954),

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

(1955–1956) 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 ...

(1958–1959). As a rookie in 1953, Renna hit a .314

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 61 games for the Yankees, while in 1958, playing for the Red Sox, he hit .268 with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and slugged .571 in 39 games, driving in 18 runs on 15

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

appearances. His most productive season came in 1954 with the Philadelphia Athletics, when he posted career numbers in home runs (13),

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(52),

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(53) and games (123), while hitting a .254 average. He led American League right fielders with five

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s, while tying for third overall among all outfielders behind

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball color line, bas ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

' Chuck Diering (six apiece). In a six-season career, Renna was a .239 hitter (219-for-918) and slugged .391 with 28 home runs and 119 RBI in 370 games, including 123 runs, 36 doubles, 10

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, two

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s and a .315

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. He also played in the

Minor Leagues 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 ...

in part of seven seasons from 1949 to 1959, collecting a .287 average with 139 homers and 312 RBI in 741 game appearances. Renna entered the baseball record books while playing for the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. On June 29, 1952, the Blues belted 10 home runs against the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

to set a league mark for most home runs in a single game by one team. Kansas City amassed 53

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

and hit six homers in an inning (also AA marks) en route to a 17-4 win. Roy Partee hit three homers (including two in the big inning) while Renna, Vic Power and

Kal Segrist Kal Hill Segrist (April 14, 1931 – June 26, 2015) was an American utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1955). Listed at 6' 0", 180 lb., Segrist batted and threw right- ...

added two apiece and

Andy Carey Andrew Arthur Carey ( Hexem; October 18, 1931 – December 15, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1952–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago Wh ...

hit one. Renna was a longtime resident of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, where he died in 2014 at the age of 89.

References

Sources

Baseball in WartimeBaseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renna, Bill 1924 births 2014 deaths All-American college baseball players Binghamton Triplets players Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball outfielders Menlo Oaks baseball players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tars players Baseball players from Hanford, California Philadelphia Athletics players Quincy Gems players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Francisco Dons baseball players Santa Clara Broncos baseball players Santa Clara Broncos football players Twin Falls Cowboys players United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II