Bill Renna

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Bill Renna
Runs batted in		119
Teams
New York Yankees (1953) Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1954–1956) Boston Red Sox (1958–1959)

William Beneditto Renna (October 14, 1924 – June 19, 2014) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a right fielder for four teams in part of five seasons spanning 1953–1959. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 metres), 218 pounds (99 kg), Renna batted and threw right-handed. Nicknamed "Big Bill", he was one of the first of several Santa Clara University graduates to reach the Major League level.

Born in Hanford, California, Renna was the son of William and Christina Renna. He graduated from Hanford Union High School in 1942, and attended University of San Francisco before joining the U.S. Marine Corps and serving in the South Pacific during World War II.

After discharge, Renna attended

team that year.

Bill's first year in pro baseball was with the 1949 Twin Falls Cowboys. Bill's manager with that team, Charlie Metro, had this to say about him: "Bill Renna was a big football player at Santa Clara who the Yankees signed and sent to Twin Falls his first year. He hit like heck up there, and they called him 'Bull,' because he was a big guy. He was a delight to have on the team.... I had difficulty with the college players. They had their minds set on the way they wanted to play. Not all of them were problems though. Bill Renna, from Santa Clara College, was great, one of the finest players I had enjoyed handling."[1]

Renna entered the majors in 1953 with the

(1958–1959).

As a rookie in 1953, Renna hit a .314

pinch-hit

appearances.

His most productive season came in 1954 with the Philadelphia Athletics, when he posted career numbers in home runs (13),

(six apiece).

In a six-season career, Renna was a .239 hitter (219-for-918) and slugged .391 with 28 home runs and 119 RBI in 370 games, including 123 runs, 36 doubles, 10 triples, two stolen bases and a .315 on-base percentage.

He also played in the

in part of seven seasons from 1949 to 1959, collecting a .287 average with 139 homers and 312 RBI in 741 game appearances.

Renna entered the baseball record books while playing for the

hit one.

Renna was a longtime resident of San Jose, California, where he died in 2014 at the age of 89.

References

Sources

• Baseball in Wartime
• Bill Renna - Baseballbiography.com
• Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet
• Obituary