Bill Hart (hartbi03)

William Woodrow Hart

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Wiconisco High School
• Debut September 18, 1943
• Final Game August 5, 1945
• Born March 4, 1913 in Wiconisco, PA USA
• Died July 29, 1968 in Lykens, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Bill Hart spent seventeen seasons in professional baseball from 1935 to 1952. Bill spent parts of three of his years (1943-1945) in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He managed to appear in 8 games in 1943, 29 in 1944, and 58 in 1945, for a total of 95 games with 270 at-bats and 56 base-hits for a .207 big league career average, during these three war-time seasons.

Hart had a great partial season in 1945 with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, busting 17 home runs in 38 games and hitting .368. On September 3rd Hart blasted 4 home runs and knocked in 9 runs for the Saints in the morning game of a Labor Day doubleheader against the Minneapolis Millers. He also had a good year in 1943, his first partial year in the majors, when he hit .315 and 17 home runs for the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association.

In 1938, Prior to his time in the big leagues, Hart showed he could hit, when he had a .342 average and 16 round-trippers for the Portsmouth Red Birds of the class C Middle Atlantic League, helping his team to the league championship and playoff title.

After his time in the major leagues, Bill spent seven more seasons in the minors (1946-1952). In 1949, at the age of 36, with the Cairo Dodgers of the class D Kitty League, he hit at a .404 clip, had 21 four-baggers and a .716 slugging average. While in the minors, Bill had six seasons hitting over the .300 mark and eleven times he had double-digit home run numbers.

Overall, in his 17-year run in the minor leagues, Hart appeared in 1,976 games had 6,806 at-bats with 1,936 base-hits that included 214 home runs, for a career minor league average of .284. To top it off in his last four seasons (1949-1952), Hart was the player-manager of the 1949 Cairo Dodgers, 1950 and 1951 Santa Barbara Dodgers and the 1952 Asheville Tourists. His 1951 Santa Barbara team won the League Championship and the play-off title.

After baseball, Hart worked for the Reifs and Nestor Company of Lykens, PA. His death as a result of portal cirrhosis of the liver on July 29, 1968 at the Holy Spirit Hospital in Lykens. William Woodrow Hart was 55 years of age.

Related Sites

• Bill Hart at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page