Billy Maloney

William Alphonse Maloney

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 177 lb.
• School Georgetown College
• Debut May 2, 1901
• Final Game October 6, 1908
• Born June 5, 1878 in Lewiston, ME USA
• Died September 2, 1960 in Breckenridge, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Billy Maloney played six seasons in the majors, achieving notoriety in a number of ways. First, he was a rookie during the first major league season of the new American League in 1901. He was the regular catcher for much of that season for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers became the St. Louis Browns the following season and Billy became primarily an outfielder after that. Second, while with the Chicago Cubs in 1905 he led the National League in stolen bases. Third, in three separate seasons he led his league in strikeouts.

Maloney moved around a lot. He was born in Lewiston, ME, and played at age 19 for the Lewiston team. In addition to playing for major league teams in five cities, he also played in the minors for teams as far-flung as Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Rochester, Fort Worth, San Antonio and others. He spent his years after baseball living in Texas.

In addition to his playing career, he worked one National League game as an umpire in 1902.

"Billy Maloney . . . is one of the highest priced players in minor base ball . . ." - Sporting Life, August 15, 1903

"Billy Maloney deserves the rating of Billy Sunday the second." - Sporting Life, June 10, 1905, presumably commenting on Maloney's speed, defense, and possibly his modest batting average

Notable Achievements

• NL Stolen Bases Leader (1905)
• 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (1905)

Related Sites

• Billy Maloney at the SABR Bio Project