Bill Sommers

William Dunn Sommers

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut April 25, 1950
• Final Game October 1, 1950
• Born February 17, 1923 in Brooklyn, NY USA
• Died September 22, 2000 in Palm City, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Brooklyn, NY-born Bill Sommers hit .255 while playing in 65 games at second and third base for the St. Louis Browns in his only big league season in 1950. Bill also knew how to draw a walk. He drew 25 walks for a .370 on-base percentage in his one season in the Show.

Sommers spent his first season in the minors with the 1942 Canton Terriers of the class C Middle Atlantic League, hitting .277 in 129 games before being called up for duty with the United States Military during World War II.

Bill returned from military service in time for the 1946 season and spent the year with the Lynn Red Sox of the New England League, where he hit .324 in 121 games. He then spent the 1947 season with the Scranton Red Sox of the class A Eastern League and hit at a .300 clip in 140 games. On November 18, 1947, Sommers, who had been originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox before the 1942 season, was traded to the St. Louis Browns along with Sam Dente, Clem Dreisewerd and $65,000 for Billy Hitchcock and Ellis Kinder.

Bill was the class AA Texas League San Antonio Missions' second baseman for the next two seasons, hitting .326 in 153 games in 1948 and .258 in 1949, in 120 games in 1949, his last season in the minors. This gave him a total of five years down under and he ended up with a career .299 hitting average with 25 home runs while playing 663 games.

His son, Rick Sommers, talked about his father. "Dad lost several early years in his baseball career serving in the Army in World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He had talked about his greatest thrill when he started a game for the Browns against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in front of family and friends. He always mentioned how Gene Woodling robbed him of a grand slam home run in the game. He left baseball the next year and was in the printing business with Pentagon Printing. Later he was the president of Consolidated Color Press in New York before retiring in Florida."

Sommers passed away on September 22, 2000, at age 76 in Palm City, FL.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors Page