1896
Born August 15, 1896
McSherrystown, PA, USA
Bill Sherdel Marquee
He won 153 games for St. Louis, fifth in the club's history, across thirteen seasons, and 165 in all with a 3.72 earned run average and 2,709 innings. He was called Wee Willie, was five foot ten, and threw nothing hard; the second pitch was a slower version of the first.
He started and lost two games of the 1926 World Series against the Yankees and two more in 1928, four defeats in two Octobers against the same opponent, though St. Louis won the first of those Series. In the fourth game of 1928 he quick-pitched Babe Ruth on a two-strike count and the umpires would not allow it; Ruth then homered.
He led the National League in saves three times, in an era when the starter with the best control finished other men's games. Nine writers' ballots gave him no more than two votes. He died in 1968, at seventy-two.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1928 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | STL | 35 | 62 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .242 |
| 1919 | STL | 40 | 48 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .271 |
| 1920 | STL | 49 | 63 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .222 |
| 1921 | STL | 39 | 44 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .114 |
| 1922 | STL | 48 | 88 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .193 |
| 1923 | STL | 45 | 83 | 13 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 0 | .337 |
| 1924 | STL | 49 | 75 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 0 | .200 |
| 1925 | STL | 33 | 73 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .205 |
| 1926 | STL | 36 | 90 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .244 |
| 1927 | STL | 39 | 72 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .194 |
| 1928 | STL | 38 | 84 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 1 | .226 |
| 1929 | STL | 33 | 70 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .229 |
| 1930 | BSN/STL | 34 | 61 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .098 |
| 1931 | BSN | 27 | 46 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .304 |
| 1932 | BSN/STL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Career | — | 549 | 960 | 96 | 214 | 35 | 5 | 9 | 86 | 63 | 96 | 2 | .223 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | STL | 6 | 12 | 35 | 16 | 0 | 182.1 | 174 | 55 | 49 | 40 | 2.71 |
| 1919 | STL | 5 | 9 | 36 | 10 | 1 | 137.1 | 137 | 53 | 42 | 52 | 3.47 |
| 1920 | STL | 11 | 10 | 43 | 7 | 6 | 170.0 | 183 | 62 | 40 | 74 | 3.28 |
| 1921 | STL | 9 | 8 | 38 | 8 | 1 | 144.1 | 137 | 51 | 38 | 57 | 3.18 |
| 1922 | STL | 17 | 13 | 47 | 31 | 2 | 242.0 | 298 | 104 | 62 | 79 | 3.87 |
| 1923 | STL | 15 | 13 | 39 | 26 | 2 | 225.0 | 270 | 108 | 59 | 78 | 4.32 |
| 1924 | STL | 8 | 9 | 35 | 10 | 1 | 168.2 | 188 | 64 | 38 | 57 | 3.42 |
| 1925 | STL | 15 | 6 | 32 | 21 | 1 | 200.0 | 216 | 69 | 42 | 53 | 3.10 |
| 1926 | STL | 16 | 12 | 34 | 29 | 0 | 234.2 | 255 | 91 | 49 | 59 | 3.49 |
| 1927 | STL | 17 | 12 | 39 | 28 | 6 | 232.1 | 241 | 91 | 48 | 59 | 3.53 |
| 1928 | STL | 21 | 10 | 38 | 27 | 5 | 248.2 | 251 | 79 | 56 | 72 | 2.86 |
| 1929 | STL | 10 | 15 | 33 | 22 | 0 | 195.2 | 278 | 129 | 58 | 69 | 5.93 |
| 1930 | BSN/STL | 9 | 7 | 34 | 21 | 1 | 183.1 | 217 | 96 | 43 | 55 | 4.71 |
| 1931 | BSN | 6 | 10 | 27 | 16 | 0 | 137.2 | 163 | 65 | 35 | 34 | 4.25 |
| 1932 | BSN/STL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3.68 |
| Career | — | 165 | 146 | 514 | 272 | 26 | 2709.1 | 3018 | 1120 | 661 | 839 | 3.72 |
On this day & linked events
1968
Died November 14, 1968
1918
Major-league debut: Bill Sherdel
Bill Sherdel made a major-league debut on April 22, 1918.
1932
Final major-league game: Bill Sherdel
Bill Sherdel played a final major-league game on June 11, 1932.