William J. Sweeney (1858 – August 2, 1903) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Providence Grays (

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

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, the team became the Oaklan ...

(

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

), and Baltimore Monumentals (

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

). In 1884, he won 40 games for Baltimore, leading the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

in wins (40), complete games (58), and innings pitched (538).

Early years

Sweeney was born in 1858 in Philadelphia. He grew up in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Professional baseball

Sweeney began his professional baseball career with the Athletic Club in 1878. He next played for the San Francisco baseball club in 1879 and 1880. He joined Providence of the National League for the 1881 season. In 1882, he played for the

of the American Association. He started 20 games for the Athletics, compiling a 9-10 record with a 2.91 ERA. In 1883, Sweeney pitched 38 games for Peoria of the Northwestern League. In 1884, Sweeney played for the Baltimore Monumentals of the

(UA), appearing in 62 games and compiling a 40-21 record with a 2.59 ERA. His 40 wins led the UA, as no other player even reached 30 wins that year. Only 24 players in major-league history have won 40 games in a season. He also led the UA in 1884 with 58 complete games and 538 innings pitched and ranked second in the UA with 374 strikeouts and third with a 7.3 Wins Above Replacement. In 1885, Sweeney played for the Cleveland Forest Cities in the Western League. In 1885 and 1886, he played for Oswego of the New York State League League.

Later years

As of 1887, Sweeney was with the Beford Club when frequent hemorrhages put his life in danger. He continued to suffer from poor health after his playing career ended. As of 1890, he was working at a machine shop in Philadelphia. He later worked for the Water Department. He died in Philadelphia in 1903 at age 45. The cause of death was reported as "consumption", a term then used for tuberculosis.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Bill 1858 births 1903 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Philadelphia Baltimore Monumentals players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players San Francisco Californias players San Francisco Athletics players Peoria Reds players Cleveland Forest Cities players Elmira Colonels players Oswego Sweegs players Oswego Starchboxes players Reading (minor league baseball) players