Bill Currie

William Cleveland Currie

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 13, 1955
• Final Game April 30, 1955
• Born November 29, 1926 in Leary, GA USA
• Died October 30, 2013 in Arlington, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Before the 1950 season Bill Currie signed as an amateur free agent with the minor league Waycross Bears of the class D Appalachian League. The right-hander posted a 15-11 record with a 3.77 ERA for that season. He then bounced around the minors with several clubs, building a 61-47 record with a 3.85 ERA and wound up in the 1955 Spring Training camp of the Washington Senators.

Bill made the squad that went North and recalls making his big league debut in a relief role at Yankee Stadium and facing Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees. Currie was shelled for seven runs in four innings with a 12.46 ERA in his brief and only stay in the major leagues. This didn't break his spirit and he spent the rest of the year with the class AA Chattanooga Lookouts going 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA.

Currie continued his war in the minors, spending the next four seasons (1956-1959) with nine different teams in five different leagues. Bill spent his last trip to the mound in pro baseball with the Memphis Chickasaws and left a winner. His minor league stats show he appeared in 311 contests, won 92 and lost 72, while pitching 1,522 innings, giving up 1,447 base hits and 633 base on balls for a career 4.04 ERA.

An obituary indicates he was born in 1926, not 1928 as was published when he was active.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database: [1]