Bill Steele (baseball)
Bill Steele | ||
---|---|---|
Strikeouts | 236 | |
Teams | ||
|
William Mitchell Steele (October 5, 1885 – October 19, 1949) was an American
Steele grew up in
Early life
William Mitchell Steele was born on October 5, 1885, in Milford, Pennsylvania. His parents, Maurice and Caroline ("Carrie"), were the children of Germans who had immigrated to New York. Maurice worked at an ice business, a sawmill, and a watch-case factory, also serving at times as a constable. On top of this, the Steeles owned a farm. Growing up, Bill helped tend the farm along with three of his siblings (a fourth died at birth).[1]
Steele started playing baseball in rural pastures around Milford. He played the positions of
Baseball career
Altoona (1909-10)
By 1909, Steele was pitching professionally for the
Steele won his first eight
Altoona became the Rams in 1910, and Steele became the best pitcher in their league.
St. Louis Cardinals (1910-14)
1910
After the minor league season, Steele joined the Cardinals in September. St. Louis was in the midst of a losing season; the ballclub would finish with a 63–90 record.[2] In his September 10 debut, facing the Cincinnati Reds at the Palace of the Fans, Steele allowed five runs in the first inning but settled down after that, allowing seven runs in a complete game and contributing three hits, one of which was a triple, in St. Louis's 14–7 victory. He completed all eight of his starts that year and won four of his first five games, giving Cardinal fans something to cheer about in the midst of a seventh-place season.[1] In nine games (eight starts) his rookie year, Steele had a 4–4 record, a 3.27 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 24 walks, and 71 hits allowed in 71+2⁄3 innings pitched.[3]
1911
Deciding that the Cardinals needed a change of personnel, Bresnahan got rid of five of the Cardinal pitchers from the 1910 season; Steele was one of the only ones who remained on the roster through 1911.
June 11 marked a turning point in Steele's season. After giving up four runs in the first inning to the
1912
An arm injury suffered during 1912 spring training contributed to early-season struggles by Steele. With a 3–7 record and an ERA of almost 6.00 in late June, Steele was moved to the bullpen after a June 18 start. He also served poorly in this role and was given the chance to start again on June 29.[1] Facing the Reds, he "rose heroic, like some grand old monolith by the River Nile" according to the St. Louis Star and Times as he held Cincinnati to seven hits and contributed a triple with the bases loaded in the 7–2 victory.[1][4] This instigated the best set of games Steele ever pitched, as he won six of seven decisions and posted a 1.95 ERA through August 3.[1] In the last of those, on August 3, Steele held the Phillies to five runs (three earned) in a complete-game, 7–5 victory, improving his record for the season to 9–8.[5] However, he did not win another game all season, going 0–5 the rest of the way.[6] In 40 games (25 starts), he had a 9–13 record, 67 strikeouts, 66 walks, and 245 hits allowed in 194 innings pitched, getting "hit hard" according to baseball historian Frank Russo.[3][2] Steele's 4.69 ERA, as well as his 11.4 hits allowed per nine innings pitched, were the worst totals among pitchers who threw enough innings to qualify for the MLB ERA title.[1]
1913
In late February 1913, Steele criticized Bresnahan, who had been fired as manager the previous August. Steele accused him of not treating the players fairly, going on to say that he deliberately tried not to pitch as well because of this. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat in response suggested that Bresnahan kept Steele with the team when the pitcher did not deserve it, adding "Steele is not deserving of the least bit of sympathy from anyone."
1914
At spring training in 1914, Steele said that he believed he could win at least 25 games, but he again served in a mopup role once the regular season began.
Brooklyn Robins (1914)
With Brooklyn, Steele made eight appearances, only one of which was a start.[3] He won one game for the Robins, giving up one run in 3+2⁄3 innings in a 9–6 triumph over Cincinnati in the first game of a doubleheader.[10][11] In his last game of the year, on October 1, he entered in the ninth inning with Brooklyn leading the Phillies 7–6 and gave up three runs, taking the loss as Philadelphia triumphed 9–7.[10][12] Those were his only decisions with Brooklyn; he had a 5.51 ERA, struck out three batters, walked seven, and gave up 17 hits in 16+1⁄3 innings. In 25 games (three starts) between both teams, he had a 2–3 record, a 3.36 ERA, 19 strikeouts, 14 walks, and 72 hits allowed in 69+2⁄3 innings.[3]
Later career
The Robins optioned Steele to the
Description and pitching style
When Steele made his debut on September 10, 1910, reporter Jack Ryder called him a "large and ferocious gentleman, with baleful ire in his amps and a curveball in his capacious mitt."[1] His eyes were blue, his hair was black, and he had a very squarish jaw. High cheekbones accented how long his face was. At 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), he was one of the bigger players at that time.[1] His nickname was "Big Bill".[2] He often weighed nearly 200 pounds (91 kg), but this could change during the summer. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "[T]he hot weather during the middle of the season sets him back a great deal and peels off too much flesh making him go stale and weakening him."[1] He relied mainly on the spitball but also threw a fastball and curveball. According to the Altoona Tribune in 1910, Steele could "make the spitter break any old way he pleases. Some times it goes over with a slide shoot; other times it drops a foot."[15]
Personal life
Steele met Ann Farr Doyle, a St. Louis resident, in early 1912. They were married in 1913 and had one son, Bernard, who would be born six years later.
Death
On October 19, 1949, a rainy evening, Steele was hit by a streetcar in Overland, just two blocks from his house. Taken to St. Louis County Hospital, he was declared dead when the ambulance arrived.[1][2] Initially, the coroner declared that Steele's death was a homicide. Walter F. Hibler, the streetcar operator, refused to testify, and no other witnesses to the death were found. Thus, Hibler was never charged with any wrongdoing.[2] Steele was buried in St. Louis's Memorial Park Cemetery, Section 1, Lot 373.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Wolf, Gregory H. "Bill Steele". SABR. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4422-3639-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Bill Steele Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Box Score, June 29, 1912". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score, August 3, 1912". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Bill Steele 1912 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Bill Steele 1913 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Weak Battery Is Cardinal Alibi for 1913," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2, 1913. p. 6.
- ^ "Big Bill Steele, Weighing 196, Is Ready to Twirl," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 16, 1914. p. 10.
- ^ a b "Bill Steele 1914 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds at Brooklyn Robins Box Score, September 21, 1914". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Brooklyn Robins at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score, October 1, 1914". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Bill Steele Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Diamond Briefs," Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania), June 12, 1915. p. 18.
- ^ "Big Bill Steele Has Made Good," Altoona Tribune, September 27, 1910. p. 10.
- ^ "Bernard Steele Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)