William Henry Zuber (March 26, 1913 – November 2, 1982) was an American professional

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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 had an 11-year

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 ...

career between 1936 and 1947. He pitched his entire career in the

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with the

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 ...

, Washington Senators,

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 ...

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 ...

. Bill was born and raised in Middle Amana, Iowa, a community of German pietists who until 1932 practiced a form of communitarian living.

Playing career

Indians

Zuber made his professional debut in 1932, and joined the Zanesville Greys of the

Middle Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...

, a minor league team in the Indians' organization, in 1933. After several more seasons in the minor leagues, Zuber spent most of the 1936 season playing for the Greys, finishing with a 17–8 record and over 200 strikeouts. He made his Major League debut on September 16, 1936, with the Cleveland Indians. In his first game against the Boston Red Sox, he pitched five innings and earned a

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in the six-inning affair which was shortened due to rain. After starting a second game and finishing the season with one win and one

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, he spent the 1937 season playing for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

of the American Association. He rejoined the Indians during the 1938 and 1939 seasons and was used as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. In the two seasons, he posted a 2–3 record and finished 16 games. He finished the 1940 season with a 1–1 record, and on April 21, 1941, the Washington Senators purchased his contract from the Indians.

Senators and Yankees

Zuber spent two seasons with the Senators, starting seven games and finishing 19 both seasons. He was classified 4-F by the military, and as a result was able to remain with the team during World War II. In 1942, he won a career high nine games. On January 29, 1943, Zuber was traded to the Yankees with cash for Jerry Priddy and Milo Candini. The 1943 New York Yankees went on to win the world series, with Zuber finishing the season with an 8–4 record over 20 games, which included 13 starts and 7

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. He did not pitch in the

1943 World Series The 1943 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1943 season. The 40th edition of the World Series, it matched the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Yankees in a rematch of the 1942 Wo ...

. He remained an occasional starter the following two seasons, winning five games in both seasons and earning a 3.19

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 1945. Although he only posted a 5–11 record for the season, the Yankees were

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 ...

14 times during the season, seven when Zuber was pitching, a club record.

Boston Red Sox

At the start of the 1946 season, Zuber pitched three games and had an ERA of over 12 before he was purchased by the Boston Red Sox on June 18. He went on to post a 5–1 record and a career-low 2.54 ERA during the remainder of the season. On September 21, Zuber won a game against the Senators, which gave the Red Sox their 100th victory of the season. Zuber appeared in game four of the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

, pitching two innings and allowing one run in a 12–3 loss to 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 ...

. After pitching 20 games during the 1947 season, Zuber returned to the minor leagues for a season, pitching for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

in 1948, before retiring.

Life after baseball

After retirement, Zuber started a restaurant in

Homestead, Iowa Homestead is an unincorporated community in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. Homestead is a census-designated place with the population recorded as 135 in the 2020 census. Geography Homestead is in northeastern Iowa County at the junction of ...

of the

Amana Colonies The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villag ...

in 1949. Zuber died in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on November 2, 1982.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuber, Bill Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen New York Yankees players Boston Red Sox players Cedar Rapids Bunnies players Zanesville Greys players Fargo-Moorhead Twins players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Baseball players from Iowa People from Iowa County, Iowa 1913 births 1982 deaths