Billy Consolo

William Angelo Consolo

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Dorsey High School
• Debut April 20, 1953
• Final Game September 30, 1962
• Born August 18, 1934 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Billy Consolo made his major league debut at the age of 18, a bonus baby with the Boston Red Sox in 1953. He played 10 seasons in the majors, never getting as many as 250 at bats in one season. He played 317 games at shortstop, 101 at second base, and 61 at third base. He was the Opening Day second baseman and leadoff hitter for the Boston Red Sox in 1954, a season in which he saw his most regular play. In 603 games, he batted .221/.315/.289. After his playing days, Consolo was a Detroit Tigers coach from 1979 to 1992 and again in 1995.

Consolo was a boyhood friend of Sparky Anderson. He was a baseball and track star at Dorsey High School and was named Los Angeles city player of the year in 1951 and 1952. Anderson and Bill Lachemann (brother of Rene and Marcel) were teammates at Dorsey and also on a national champion American Legion Baseball team. In the 1960s, on retirement, he became a barber at the Statler Hilton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, succeeding his father. Source: L.A. Times obituary.

Further Reading

• Joanne Hulbert: "Billy Consolo", in Mark Pattison and David Raglin, ed.: Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish!, SABR Publications, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 191-196. ISBN 1933599448
• Joanne Hulbert: "Billy Consolo", in Mark Armour and Bill Nowlin, eds.: Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 233-240. ISBN 978-1933599243

Related Sites

• Billy Consolo at the SABR Bio Project
• Billy's baseball card (1961 Peter's Meats)