1865
Born July 19, 1865
Louisville, KY, USA
Bill Hart Marquee
b. July 19, 1865 · Philadelphia Athletics 1886–1887, Brooklyn Grooms 1892, Pittsburgh Pirates 1895, 1898, St. Louis Browns 1896–1897, Cleveland Blues 1901
He debuted at twenty in 1886, then again in 1892, in 1895, in 1896 and finally in 1901, with years of minor-league ball filling the gaps between each comeback. Eight seasons across those fifteen calendar years gave him 66 wins against 120, a 4.65 earned run average, 1,582 innings and 162 complete games — a losing record built mostly on bad clubs rather than bad pitching.
He went 37-24 with 17 saves in 1892 for Pittsburgh in a season when the National League briefly split into halves, and hit well enough to be used as a pinch hitter and part-time outfielder throughout his career, finishing with a .207 average and 15 triples as a batter.
He umpired in the National League after his playing career and was one of the game's more respected arbiters for over a decade. No Hall of Fame ballot ever listed him. He died in 1936, at seventy-one.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | PHA | 22 | 73 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .137 |
| 1887 | PHA | 3 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .077 |
| 1892 | BRO | 37 | 125 | 14 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 4 | .192 |
| 1895 | PIT | 36 | 106 | 8 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | .236 |
| 1896 | STL | 49 | 161 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 7 | .186 |
| 1897 | STL | 46 | 156 | 14 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 4 | .250 |
| 1898 | PIT | 16 | 50 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .240 |
| 1901 | CLE | 20 | 64 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .219 |
| Career | — | 229 | 748 | 59 | 155 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 67 | 17 | 74 | 18 | .207 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | PHA | 9 | 13 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 186.0 | 183 | 66 | 66 | 78 | 3.19 |
| 1887 | PHA | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 26.0 | 28 | 13 | 17 | 4 | 4.50 |
| 1892 | BRO | 9 | 12 | 28 | 23 | 1 | 195.0 | 188 | 71 | 96 | 65 | 3.28 |
| 1895 | PIT | 14 | 17 | 36 | 29 | 1 | 261.2 | 293 | 138 | 135 | 85 | 4.75 |
| 1896 | STL | 12 | 29 | 42 | 41 | 0 | 336.0 | 411 | 191 | 141 | 65 | 5.12 |
| 1897 | STL | 9 | 27 | 39 | 38 | 0 | 294.2 | 395 | 205 | 148 | 67 | 6.26 |
| 1898 | PIT | 5 | 9 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 125.0 | 141 | 67 | 44 | 19 | 4.82 |
| 1901 | CLE | 7 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 157.2 | 180 | 66 | 57 | 48 | 3.77 |
| Career | — | 66 | 120 | 206 | 190 | 3 | 1582.0 | 1819 | 817 | 704 | 431 | 4.65 |
On this day & linked events
1936
Died September 19, 1936
1886
Major-league debut: Bill Hart
Bill Hart made a major-league debut on July 26, 1886.
1901
Final major-league game: Bill Hart
Bill Hart played a final major-league game on July 30, 1901.
Image: Goodwin & Company, public domain