Bill Eagan

William Eagan
(Bad Bill)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 7", Weight 148 lb.

• Debut April 8, 1891
• Final Game June 2, 1898
• Born June 1, 1869 in Camden, NJ USA
• Died February 13, 1905 in Denver, CO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Eagan earned himself the nickname "Bad Bill" due to his erratic behavior both on and off the field. He was very superstitious and refused to run straight to his position at second base, rather he would run up the third base or first base line (depending on which side his bench was on) and run across the infield to take his position. He once got in trouble for throwing empty beer bottles out the window of his hotel room at a group of nuns crossing the street in Cincinnati, OH and was once kicked off the St. Louis Browns' team train and left behind in the middle of nowhere.

Due to his behavior, he was never able to stick with a team for very long. In 1898, he shot at his wife and chased her around saying that he was going to kill her and then himself, but was grabbed by police officers who took him to jail. He was sent to a mental asylum shortly after this. In 1899 he joined the Detroit Tigers of the Western League and in July he was ejected from a game and needed to be removed from the field by someone else. He then proceeded to flop down in the shower in the clubhouse while still wearing his clothes and turned on the water. He was released shortly after this and was said to be suffering from insanity. He died in early 1905 from consumption in Denver, CO.

Related Sites

• Bill Eagan at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily story on Bill Eagan
• Baseball History Daily story on Bill Eagan 2