Billy Klaus

Billy Klaus
Billy Klaus
Runs batted in	22
Teams
	Boston / Milwaukee Braves (1952–1953); Boston Red Sox (1955–1958); Baltimore Orioles (1959–1960); Washington Senators (1961); Philadelphia Phillies (1962–1963); Chunichi Dragons (1963);

William Joseph Klaus (December 9, 1928 – December 3, 2006) was an American

Washington Senators (1961), and Philadelphia Phillies (1962–1963). He played the end of the 1963 season playing for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball

(NPB). Klaus batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and was listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg), during his playing days.

Born in Spring Grove, Illinois, Klaus attended Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, Illinois. One of four children, his family lived on a dairy farm and at one point he had to leave high school in order to help on the farm while his father was ill. Klaus was the older brother of MLB infielder Bobby Klaus, who played for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets in 1964–1965.

After nine

home runs

(HR), and was acquired by the Red Sox during the 1954–55 offseason.

In his

American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Herb Score. "On February 2, 1956, Klaus was awarded the first annual Harry Agganis Memorial Award by the Boston baseball writers as the Red Sox Rookie of the Year. ... Ted Williams sent a telegram from his home in Florida, congratulating Klaus and articulating his value to the team as only Ted could put it: “Billy Klaus was one of the greatest little competitors I ever played with.”"^[1] A year later, he posted almost identical numbers (.271/7/59), and in 1957

he belted a high-career 10 homers.

In an 11-season MLB career, Klaus was a .249 lifetime hitter, with 40 HR, and 250 RBI, in 821 games played. He totaled 626 hits.

After his active career, Klaus

Sarasota

Florida and North Carolina.

Klaus was inducted into the Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.^[2]

References

^ "Billy Klaus | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
^ "College of Lake County - Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame". www.clclancers.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2016-09-27.

External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Billy Klaus at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Billy Klaus at Baseball Almanac

[1] "Billy Klaus | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved 2016-09-27.

[2] "College of Lake County - Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame". www.clclancers.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2016-09-27.

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