1907
Born July 15, 1907
Canton, GA, USA
Bill Byrd Marquee
b. July 15, 1907 · Columbus Blue Birds 1933, Cleveland Red Sox 1934, Columbus Elite Giants 1935, Washington Elite Giants 1936–1937, Baltimore Elite Giants 1938–1939, 1941–1948, Philadelphia Stars 1943–1944
Bill Byrd was one of the last pitchers permitted to throw a legal spitball. The Negro National League grandfathered him in, and he used it for a decade and a half, mostly for the Baltimore Elite Giants, alongside a screwball and an assortment of speeds.
He came up with the Columbus Blue Birds in 1933 and followed that franchise as it moved through Cleveland, Columbus, Washington and finally Baltimore, which suited him: he stayed there through 1948 and was chosen for seven East-West All-Star games.
Born in Canton, Georgia in 1907, Byrd compiled a 101-68 record with 118 complete games in the surviving record, and pitched his last recorded game in 1949. Byrd died in January 1991, at eighty-three.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 7 | 1936, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | CBB | 17 | 50 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .120 |
| 1934 | CRS | 17 | 43 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .326 |
| 1935 | CEG | 18 | 36 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1936 | WEG | 24 | 61 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .311 |
| 1937 | WEG | 22 | 41 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .366 |
| 1938 | BEG | 21 | 56 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .232 |
| 1939 | BEG | 17 | 44 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .386 |
| 1941 | BEG | 22 | 48 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .292 |
| 1942 | BEG | 34 | 72 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .264 |
| 1943 | BEG/PS | 37 | 109 | 17 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 2 | .248 |
| 1944 | BEG/PS | 16 | 37 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .135 |
| 1945 | BEG | 27 | 60 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .183 |
| 1946 | BEG | 21 | 41 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .122 |
| 1947 | BEG | 22 | 48 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 1948 | BEG | 28 | 58 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | .310 |
| Career | — | 343 | 804 | 117 | 207 | 36 | 10 | 17 | 135 | 77 | 11 | 3 | .257 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | CBB | 3 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 95.0 | 104 | 45 | 12 | 33 | 4.26 |
| 1934 | CRS | 2 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 58.2 | 89 | 49 | 15 | 24 | 7.52 |
| 1935 | CEG | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 35.0 | 40 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 5.66 |
| 1936 | WEG | 9 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 96.0 | 102 | 39 | 23 | 41 | 3.66 |
| 1937 | WEG | 4 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 53.2 | 61 | 32 | 16 | 28 | 5.37 |
| 1938 | BEG | 7 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 83.1 | 85 | 36 | 21 | 30 | 3.89 |
| 1939 | BEG | 8 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 88.2 | 93 | 38 | 13 | 40 | 3.86 |
| 1941 | BEG | 9 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 101.0 | 79 | 25 | 18 | 62 | 2.23 |
| 1942 | BEG | 8 | 3 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 96.1 | 91 | 37 | 26 | 48 | 3.46 |
| 1943 | BEG/PS | 10 | 5 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 134.1 | 134 | 44 | 38 | 94 | 2.95 |
| 1944 | BEG/PS | 6 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 78.0 | 76 | 24 | 17 | 58 | 2.77 |
| 1945 | BEG | 11 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 130.2 | 133 | 45 | 28 | 91 | 3.10 |
| 1946 | BEG | 4 | 7 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 80.1 | 91 | 40 | 11 | 39 | 4.48 |
| 1947 | BEG | 8 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 120.1 | 112 | 37 | 24 | 59 | 2.77 |
| 1948 | BEG | 10 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 123.1 | 104 | 26 | 22 | 79 | 1.90 |
| Career | — | 101 | 68 | 210 | 156 | 11 | 1374.2 | 1394 | 539 | 290 | 741 | 3.53 |
On this day & linked events
1991