Bill Hunnefield

William Fenton Hunnefield
(Wild Bill)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.
• School Northeastern University, Colgate University
• High School Framingham High School
• Debut April 17, 1926
• Final Game September 27, 1931
• Born January 5, 1899 in Dedham, MA USA
• Died August 28, 1976 in Nantucket, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Hunnefield's post-baseball career included being the owner of Jean Nate toiletries in New York City. Wikipedia's article about him (01-30-21) says that he and his wife Jean Nathan founded Jean Nate in the late 1940's, but other sites say that Jean Nate perfume was first introduced in 1935. [1]

Bill was born in Dedham, MA and attended Colgate University as well as Northeastern University. He began in the minors in 1923 and moved his way up, hitting .344 for the Montreal Royals that year and later .291 for the 1925 Portland Beavers.

He was in the big leagues during 1926-31 except for 60 games in 1930 with the Toledo Mud Hens. Except for part of his last big league seasons, he spent his time in the [{American League]]. His best year with the bat was with the 1928 Chicago White Sox, for whom he hit .294/.351/.354 in 368 plate appearances. He was also second in the league in sacrifice hits with 31.

Bill originally won a major league starting job with the 1926 White Sox as a rookie. The story is that Moe Berg was the favorite to win the job, but Moe, a famous scholar from the Ivy League, had told the White Sox that he would be reporting late to the team because he had to take classes to finish up law school. [2] [3] As a rookie, Hunnefield stole 24 bases, second in the league.

After the big leagues, he played some more in the minors, finishing up in 1935.