Bill Duggleby

William James Duggleby
(Frosty Bill)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right

• Debut April 21, 1898
• Final Game September 7, 1907
• Born March 16, 1874 in Utica, NY USA
• Died August 30, 1944 in Redfield, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Bill Duggleby was the first player to hit a grand slam in his first career at-bat. It came with the Philadelphia Phillies against Cy Seymour of the New York Giants on April 21, 1898. The second was Jeremy Hermida (August 31, 2005), and the third was Kevin Kouzmanoff (September 2, 2006). He was then out of the major leagues until 1901. He pitched until 1907, winning in double figures six consecutive times during that span. That included a season of 20 wins as a rookie in 1901, and another of 18 wins in 1905. He was a member of the Phillies for 230 of his 241 major league appearances as a pitcher. The only exceptions were in 1902, when he defected briefly to the Philadelphia Athletics of the rival American League for 2 games but was forced to return to the Phils for jumping his contract illegally, and 9 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in his final season in 1907. The Pirates purchased him from the Phillies after he appeared to be washed up. He pitched better for the Bucs, with a 2.68 ERA in 40 1/3 innings, but it was largely in mop-up duty. It was likely that his arm had been shot by pitching over 200 innings in each of the previous six seasons.

When Tyler Phillips struck out seven batters in a relief appearance in his major league debut on July 7, 2024, the Elias Sports Bureau claimed that he had broken the franchise record set by Duggleby on April 18, 1901. It was true that Duggleby had indeed struck out 6 batters in 8 2/3 innings of relief against the Brooklyn Superbas that day (starter Jack Dunn had been chased after giving up 5 runs while recording just one out), but while it was Duggleby's first game in three years, it wasn't his major league debut. It was clear that Phillips had set a record, but it wasn't clear whose record it was. Duggleby was not much of a strikeout pitcher: his 95 K's that season were his career high, and his walks and strikeouts were pretty well balanced throughout his career. The only category he ever led the league in was home runs allowed in 1905, with 10, largely a function of pitching in National League Park, which was the prototypical bandbox.

He umpired one National League game at the end of the 1905 season.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (1901 & 1905)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1901)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (1901-1906)

Related Sites

• Bill Duggleby at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily story on Bill Duggleby