John Augustus "Josh" Billings (November 30, 1891 – December 30, 1981) was a backup

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 catc ...

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 ...

who played for three different teams between the and seasons. Listed at , 165 lb., Billings batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Grantville, Kansas Grantville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 182. It is located east of Topeka on the south side of US-24 between Barton and KOA / Wilson roads. History Gr ...

. Before playing professional baseball, Billings was a star player at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

(1910) and

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

(1911–12). Billings played from 1913 to 1918 for the

Cleveland Naps 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) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

(renamed the Indians in 1915). In 1919, he was traded to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in exchange for Les Nunamaker. In St. Louis he received considerably more playing time than he had in Cleveland. His most productive season came in 1920, when he posted career-numbers in

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 ...

(.277), runs (19) and RBI (11), while matching a career-high 66

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. Associat ...

and finishing seventh 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 ...

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

es (7). He was a career .217 hitter in 243 games. In 1943 Billings managed the

Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

, one of the four original teams of the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

, and led his team to the playoffs in that season.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League history
/ref> Billings died in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Josh Major League Baseball catchers Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Naps players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Kansas State Wildcats baseball players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Baseball players from Kansas People from Jefferson County, Kansas 1891 births 1981 deaths Minor league baseball managers Manhattan Elks players Topeka Jayhawks players Quincy Gems players Cleveland Bearcats players Cleveland Spiders (minor league) players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Dallas Steers players Alexandria Reds players Monroe Twins players Vicksburg Hill Billies players Baton Rouge Senators players Baton Rouge Solons players Baton Rouge Red Sticks players Clarksdale Ginners players Lake Charles Skippers players