Bill Bayne

William Lear Bayne
(Beverly)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.
• High School Aspinwall High School
• Debut September 20, 1919
• Final Game April 26, 1930
• Born April 18, 1899 in Pittsburgh, PA USA
• Died May 22, 1981 in St. Louis, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Bayne had two major league stints, pitching from 1919-1924 and from 1928-1930. As he matured, he became an excellent hitter as pitchers go, hitting .290 in the majors.

Bayne went 18-8 for Tulsa in 1919, getting his shot at the majors in September 1919. He spent six seasons with the St. Louis Browns, mostly pitching in relief. In 1921, he went 11-5. George Sisler was a teammate on the Browns all six years, except the 1923 season which Sisler missed due to sinusitis. Bill went back to Tulsa in 1924, going 9-2. He stayed in the minors during 1925-27, having a great year in 1927 when he went 26-10 for Greenville. That led to his second stint in the majors from 1928-30 with the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. After pitching just one game in the majors in 1930, he spent the season at Chattanooga, where he went 21-12. He went 14-10 in 1931 for Kansas City and 13-7 in 1933 for Memphis.

There is a story that Bayne was throwing a no-hitter one day in 1922 against the Detroit Tigers, and Detroit manager Ty Cobb, in an effort to break the pattern, sent up pinch-hitters for everyone - including himself. A letter to the editor of Baseball Digest of May 1997 stated that Bayne had a "wicked curve ball".

Related Sites

• Bill Bayne at the SABR Bio Project