Bill Shewey

William Irvine Shewey
(Shoo)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.

• Born July 5, 1916 in Joplin, MO USA
• Died January 17, 2014

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Bill Shewey played in the minor leagues - almost entirely in the St. Louis Cardinals system - from 1935 to 1942, in 1946 and in 1948. He played in the Pacific Coast League for parts of three seasons.

He began his career at 18 years old and played until he was 31. In his first year, spent with the Greensburg Red Wings, he hit .302 in 29 games. The following season, he hit .326 with 170 hits in 120 games for the Union City Greyhounds. He led the Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League in games and at-bats (521). He hit .287 in 34 games for the Asheville Tourists in 1937 and in 1938, he hit .314 with 155 hits and 10 triples in 126 games split between the Albuquerque Cardinals and Mobile Shippers.

With the Williamson Red Birds (99 G, 150 H, 35 2B, 10 3B, .376 BA, .574 SLG), Portsmouth Red Birds (12 G, .302 BA) and Columbus Red Birds (11 G, .333 BA) in 1939, Shewey hit a combined .364 with 183 hits, 38 doubles, 12 triples and a .535 slugging percentage in 122 games. He led the Mountain State League in batting average and stolen bases with marks of .376 and 48, respectively. He excelled again in 1940, collecting 162 hits, 30 doubles and 10 home runs in 117 games for Williamson. He led the league with a .335 batting average and set a Mountain State League record for triples in a season with 21.

He played for the Asheville Tourists (135 G, .302 BA) and Sacramento Solons (21 G, .263 BA) in 1941 and hit .297 with 178 hits and 11 triples in 156 games. With Sacramento in 1942, he hit .299 in 44 games. In October of that year, he joined the U.S. Army and fought in World War II. Returning to professional baseball in 1946, Shewey did not collect a hit in 14 at-bats for Sacramento. He did not play in 1947, but hit .333 in 16 games for the Pittsburg Diamonds/Roseville Diamonds, whom he also managed for the latter part of the season (replacing Arnold Rose).

Overall, Shewey hit .321 with 984 hits in 771 games in a 10-year career.

One of the few players from the 1930s, he died on January 17, 2014 at the age of 97.