William Moffat Earle (November 10, 1867 – May 30, 1946), nicknamed "The Little Globetrotter",James, p. 1891 was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player who mainly played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

for five teams from 1889 to 1894. Moffat was known as one of the best catchers of his time, although he shifted from team to team by contract jumping, threatening to contract jump if he was not happy. He was most noted for his "creepy" nature. He thought of himself as a hypnotist, and was interested in

spiritual healing Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for m ...

. His teammates reported feeling uncomfortable around him, his eyes making them feel helpless and was known as somewhat of "Weirdo".Nemec, p. 85

Career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Earle began his Major League career with the

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

in 1889, and split his playing time between catcher and

right field 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 t ...

. In 53 total

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

that season, his career high, he hit .269, scored 37 runs, stole 26 bases, and hit four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s in 169

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. Earle was sold by the Red Stockings to the St. Louis Browns before the 1890 season began, and played in just 22 games, batted .233, and scored 16 runs. During the season, he was released by the Browns, but was soon playing with Tacoma of the Pacific Northwest League, where he finished the season.Nemec, p. 198 He played sparingly for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

during the 1892 and 1893 seasons. For 1894 season, he began playing with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also 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 ...

, and batted .354 in 21 games. Although he hit well, and had a .954

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

, he was released in July. He sign with the Brooklyn Groom shortly thereafter, and did equally as well. In 14 games, for them he batted .340, and had a .930 fielding percentage. In total that season, he batted .348 in 35 games between the two teams, but he never played another Major League season.

Personality

In December 1890, Earle had studied

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

, reportedly to mesmerize a lady who had previously showed no interest in him. The ''Reach Guide'' published in 1893, also claimed that Earle possessed hypnotic powers, and was a practicing

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

who also dabbled in

and

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

as well as hypnotism.James, p. 1903 According to

Bill Stern Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 – November 19, 1971) was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscaster ...

in his book ''Bill Stern's Favorite Baseball Stories'', players recalled that Earle had a pair of piercing eyes, and gave anyone who he looked at a creepy, helpless feeling. Other teammates reported that they thought he had an "

evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; a ...

". Bill Barnes, a former teammate with Earle when they played for a

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

club in 1887, noted an incident that happened on May 11 on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

near

LaCrosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

. He, Earle, and another teammate, John Ake, were in a boat when a wave created by a passing-by steamer capsized the boat. Barnes and Earle was able to swim to shore, but Ake drowned when he attempted to swim ashore himself. Barnes relates that he would never forget the look in Earles' eyes when he was watching Ake. Earle was good enough as a player, that no matter much he travelled around, he was able to catch on with some team.

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs an ...

more than anything else, finally kept Earle from continuing his professional playing career.

Post-career

After his playing days ended, he became a part-owner, and managed an independent team in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ...

. On his 1895 team was future Major League player and manager,

Kid Elberfeld Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903 ...

, with whom he joined the Dallas Navigators of the Texas Southern League for the 1896 season. Before the season began, he and Elberfeld had a lengthy salary dispute with the team, and it was not settled in their favor, so after Elberfeld was injured in May, both men jumped their contracts with Dallas. Earle, shortly thereafter, joined the

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

as a coach. In 1902, he became manager of the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n Fe Club on a cooperative basis, meaning that it was not a paid position. He was barred from playing for any of the clubs in the Cuban league due to their rule of not allowing any professional United States players from joining the league. It was noted that during this period that he was nearly penniless from losing at

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

games. Earle died at the age of 78 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, and is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

*James, Bill. 2003. ''The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract: The Classic''. Simon and Schuster. . *Nemec, David. 1994. ''The Beer And Whiskey League: The Illustrated History of the American Association—Baseball's Renegade Major League''. Lyons and Burford. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Billy Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA) players St. Louis Browns (AA) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Louisville Colonels players Brooklyn Grooms players 1867 births 1946 deaths Minor league baseball managers Memphis Grays players Nashville Americans players Duluth Freezers players St. Paul Apostles players Tacoma (minor league baseball) players Sioux City Corn Huskers players Seattle Hustlers players Birmingham Grays players Birmingham Blues players Grand Rapids Gold Bugs players Dallas Navigators players Columbus Senators players Vicksburg Hill Billies players Columbia Gamecocks players Pensacola (minor league baseball) players Battle Creek Crickets players