William Stearns (March 20, 1853 – December 30, 1898) 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 who played

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, ...

and

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 ...

in the National Association from 1871 to 1875. He was the first person who had played baseball in a major league to become a casualty of military service.

Early life

Stearns was born in 1853 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and although he was only 12 years old when the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

ended, he was a member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

, which indicates he served in some capacity during the war, perhaps as a drummer or messenger.

Professional baseball

For the first three seasons of his career, Stearns appeared exclusively as a pitcher. In —the first year of the National Association—he pitched two complete games for

Washington Olympics The Olympic Club of Washington, D.C., or Washington Olympics in modern nomenclature, was an early professional baseball team. When the National Association of Base Ball Players permitted openly professional clubs for the 1869 season, the Oly ...

, winning both, with a 2.50 ERA. In he pitched 11 complete games for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, unfortunately losing all of them, with a 6.18 ERA. In he pitched 32 complete games for the

Washington Blue Legs The Washington Nationals of the 1870s were the first important baseball club in the capital city of the United States. They competed briefly in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (commonly referred to as the National Asso ...

, posting a record of 7–25, with a 4.61 ERA. In the final two seasons of his career, Stearns appeared both as a pitcher and an outfielder. In with the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford was being played in a fever pitch. ...

his pitching record was 3–14 with a 2.95 ERA, and he played 19 games in the outfield. In his final season of —also the final year of the National Association—he was with the

, pitching to a 1–14 record with a 4.02 ERA, and playing 7 games in the outfield. Stearns' career pitching record was 13–64 with a 4.28 ERA, and as a batter he had 411

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s, hitting .191 with just two extra base hits, both doubles. He later served as an umpire during 1884.

Spanish–American War

In 1898 with the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, Stearns volunteered for military service. He was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

with the First District of Columbia Volunteers, and deployed to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in July. While there he became ill and contracted

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and although he returned to his hometown in September, he never recovered and died there on December 30.

Legacy

Stearns was the first person with major league baseball experience to become a casualty of military service. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. To date, he holds the MLB record for lowest career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) with -9.5.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Bill 1853 births 1898 deaths American military personnel killed in the Spanish–American War Deaths from malaria Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Washington Olympics players Washington Nationals (NA) players Washington Blue Legs players Hartford Dark Blues players Burials at Arlington National Cemetery