Bill Harbridge

Bill Harbridge
Catcher/Center fielder
Born: March 29, 1855
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died: March 17, 1924(1924-03-17) (aged 68)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 15, 1875, for the Hartford Dark Blues
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1884, for the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average.247
Home runs2
Runs batted in114
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

William Arthur Harbridge (March 29, 1855 – March 17, 1924), also known as "Yaller Bill", was a Major League Baseball player who split his playing time between catcher and in the outfield for five different teams during his nine-season career that lasted from 1875 through 1884.

Career

He began his career in the last year of the National Association and finished with the Union Association in its only year of existence.

On May 6, 1876, Bill is credited as becoming the first left-handed catcher in major league baseball history. He died in his hometown of Philadelphia at the age of 68, and was interred at Fernwood Cemetery in Fernwood, Pennsylvania.

In November 1885, Cincinnati's Enquirer newspaper announced that "Yaller Bill Harbridge [would] manage the Augusta (Ga.) club next season."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bill Harbridge's Stats". retrosheet.org. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  2. ↑ Cole, Bill. "Nicknames Have Lost Their Niche," in "Northwest Notebook." Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Winston-Salem Journal, May 8, 1962.
  3. ↑ Yaller Bill Harbridge, in "Base-Ball Notes." Cincinnati, Ohio: The Enquirer, January 27, 1889.
  4. ↑ "19th Century Era Famous Firsts". baseball-almanac.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  5. ↑ Yaller Bill Harbridge, in " Notes." Cincinnati, Ohio: The Enquirer, November 8, 1885.