1888
Born April 12, 1888
Fort Smith, AR, USA
Bill Bailey Marquee
b. April 12, 1888 · St. Louis Browns 1907–1912, Baltimore Terrapins 1914–1915, Chicago Whales 1915, Detroit Tigers 1918, St. Louis Cardinals 1921–1922
Bailey's strongest major-league season came early. For the Browns in 1909 he went 9-10 with a 2.44 earned run average across 199 innings, completing 17 of 20 starts and striking out 114. The next year his record fell to 3-18 despite a 3.32 average.
Eleven seasons gave him a 38-76 record, 570 strikeouts and a 3.57 earned run average in 1,084 innings. He started 117 of his 203 appearances, completed 70 games and threw eight shutouts. His career crossed the American, Federal and National leagues.
Bailey joined the Federal League's Baltimore Terrapins in 1914 and moved to the Chicago Whales during 1915. Across those clubs that year he went 9-20, struck out 122 in 223 innings and threw five shutouts. Brief returns with Detroit in 1918 and the Cardinals in 1921 and 1922 closed his career. He died in 1926, at thirty-eight.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | SLB | 6 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .150 |
| 1908 | SLB | 22 | 34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 0 | .088 |
| 1909 | SLB | 38 | 77 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 1 | .286 |
| 1910 | SLB | 34 | 63 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 1 | .206 |
| 1911 | SLB | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 1912 | SLB | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1914 | BAL | 19 | 43 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 0 | .163 |
| 1915 | BAL/CHI | 41 | 74 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 1 | .230 |
| 1918 | DET | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .077 |
| 1921 | STL | 19 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .091 |
| 1922 | STL | 12 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .286 |
| Career | — | 209 | 366 | 23 | 71 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 20 | 108 | 3 | .194 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | SLB | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 48.1 | 39 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 2.42 |
| 1908 | SLB | 3 | 5 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 106.2 | 85 | 36 | 50 | 42 | 3.04 |
| 1909 | SLB | 9 | 10 | 32 | 20 | 0 | 199.0 | 174 | 54 | 75 | 114 | 2.44 |
| 1910 | SLB | 3 | 18 | 34 | 20 | 0 | 192.1 | 186 | 71 | 97 | 90 | 3.32 |
| 1911 | SLB | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 31.2 | 42 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 4.55 |
| 1912 | SLB | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10.2 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 9.28 |
| 1914 | BAL | 7 | 9 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 128.2 | 106 | 44 | 68 | 131 | 3.08 |
| 1915 | BAL/CHI | 9 | 20 | 41 | 28 | 0 | 223.2 | 202 | 106 | 125 | 122 | 4.27 |
| 1918 | DET | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 37.2 | 53 | 25 | 26 | 13 | 5.97 |
| 1921 | STL | 2 | 5 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 74.0 | 95 | 35 | 22 | 20 | 4.26 |
| 1922 | STL | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 | 38 | 19 | 23 | 11 | 5.40 |
| Career | — | 38 | 76 | 203 | 117 | 0 | 1084.1 | 1035 | 430 | 527 | 570 | 3.57 |
On this day & linked events
1926
Died November 2, 1926
1907
Major-league debut: Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey made a major-league debut on September 11, 1907.
1922
Final major-league game: Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey played a final major-league game on June 26, 1922.
Image: American Tobacco Company baseball card, public domain