Bill Jennings

William Lee Jennings

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.
• School Washington University in Saint Louis
• High School Southwest High School (St. Louis)
• Debut July 19, 1951
• Final Game September 30, 1951
• Born September 28, 1925 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died October 20, 2010 in Affton, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Jennings was a veteran of the United States Navy during World War II when he was signed as an amateur free agent before the 1946 season by the New York Giants. Bill was assigned to the class B Interstate League with the Trenton Giants where he hit at a .310 clip in only 35 games in his initial season. Bill followed this up with four solid seasons in the minors, topping it off by hitting .285 and 23 home runs in 145 games for the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1950.

In the book Echoes from Lane Field he recalled the 1951 season, his only one in the majors, in which he hit just .179 in 64 games for the St. Louis Browns. "I began the season with the Oakland Oaks and had a three-home run game against the Los Angeles Angels but was then sent to the San Diego Padres. My daughter was born just as I was being sold to the Browns. I was the shortstop in the game in which Bill Veeck sent the midget Eddie Gaedel up to bat. I was the regular shortstop for the Browns, during the last third of the 1951 season, but they sold me to Toronto where Jack Kent Cooke was the owner and he wouldn't pay me what I wanted, so I finished the season with the the Charleston Senators, and got out of baseball."

Jennings had played eight seasons in the minors (1946-1953) with seven different teams in five different leagues and clocked out at the age of 27 with a minor league average of .255 with 68 home runs in 897 games.

After baseball, Jennings worked in St. Louis for a Dairy Company. He passed away in 2010.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• Bill Jennings at the SABR Bio project