William Franklin "Birdie" Cree (October 23, 1882 – November 8, 1942) was a

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 ...

outfielder. He spent his entire 8-year career (1908-1915) with the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

, which became 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 ...

Life

Born in Khedive, Pennsylvania, Cree was a small man at and 150 pounds. He threw and batted right-handed, and he also attended

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. Prior to the major leagues, Cree played in the High Hat League, then went to play ball in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

and

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

. Cree made his major league debut on September 17, 1908 at the age of 25. He was a solid outfielder until 1911, when he had an extraordinary season. He had or tied career highs in every major category, with the highlights being 22 triples (which tied him for 32nd all-time in a season and the most in a season for a right-hander in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

), 48

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 .348

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 ...

. He was third in the league in stolen bases and because of his great performance, he was tied with

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one o ...

for 6th highest in the voting for

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

, and was the only non-Hall of Fame player in the top six in the voting. He also hit his only career grand slam in 1911. Cree was on pace for a similar season in 1912, but it was cut short by a wrist injury from a Buck O'Brien pitch, and he played in only 50 games. He hit .332 during that time. On April 22, 1910 Cree was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...

. Cree never again lived up to his 1911 season, playing over 100 games only once in the remaining four years of his career. Rejecting baseball disdainfully, he ended his career early on September 21, 1915 with a .292 career batting average, 132 stolen bases and 62 triples. In the field, Cree had a career .962

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

. Cree retired from baseball because, "I had no intention of going to the bush leagues". After

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 ...

, he entered the world of banking.

Jack Warhop John Milton Warhop (July 4, 1884 – October 4, 1960) was an American baseball pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1908 to 1915 for the New York Highlanders / Yankees. Considered by baseball insiders and histor ...

and Ed Sweeney had been teammates of Cree for eight seasons, longer than any other teammates. On November 8, 1942 at the age of 60, Cree died in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury ( ) is a city and the county seat of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Susquehanna Valley, Sunbury is positioned on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. Sunbury's roots stretch back to the early ...

, after fighting a long illness. He was laid to rest in

Pomfret Manor Cemetery Pomfret Manor Cemetery is a cemetery located in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Former members of the United States Congress and U.S. Medal of Honor winners are among the notable interments here. History Incorporated as the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Company o ...

in Sunbury, PA. At the time of his death, he was a cashier at the First National Bank of Sunbury. On July 6, 1914, the Yankees sent Bill Holden and cash to Baltimore of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

for Cree.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cree, Birdie Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players Baseball players from Greene County, Pennsylvania New York Highlanders players New York Yankees players 1882 births 1942 deaths Major League Baseball left fielders Williamsport Millionaires players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen