Kitty Bransfield

William Edward Bransfield

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 207 lb.

• Debut August 22, 1898
• Final Game September 14, 1911
• Born January 7, 1875 in Worcester, MA USA
• Died May 1, 1947 in Worcester, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Kitty Bransfield played twelve years in the majors. Coming up originally as a catcher with the Boston Beaneaters in 1898, he switched to first base in the minors in 1900 and became good enough that he never played any other position in the majors when he returned. Moving to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1901, he anchored their pennant-winning team that year, getting more at-bats than any other player while hitting .295 with a team leading 16 triples and second best 26 doubles. Pittsburgh did even better in 1902, winning 103 games and again winning the pennant, and Bransfield hit over .300. In 1903, Pittsburgh won the pennant yet again, but Bransfield dropped to .265. He played in the 1903 World Series - the first modern World Series - and went 6 for 29 (.207) with 2 triples. After 1904, when he hit .229 and the team finished fourth, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies where he spent almost all of the rest of his career.

For the most part, his batting recovered with the Phillies, and Bransfield hit a peak of .304 with them in 1908, good for fourth in the National League. The following year, 1909, his .292 was sixth in the league during the dead-ball era. He finished out his major league career during the last part of the 1911 season, going 4-for-10 for the Chicago Cubs. In 1912, he became player-manager of the Montreal Royals and stayed with them through part of 1914. After that he was a minor league umpire, interrupted by one year when he was a National League umpire in 1917; interestingly, in 156 games as an umpire that season, he never worked home plate even once. He also managed in the minors with the Waterbury Brasscos in 1924, and scouted for the Cubs.

After his baseball days, he worked in Worcester. Bransfield was born and died there, and began his semi-pro and professional career there.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1912	Montreal Royals	International League	36-26	6th	none	none	replaced Joe Yeager (0-1) on July 24
1913	Montreal Royals	International League	74-77	5th	none	none
1914	Montreal Royals	International League	13-36	--	none	--	replaced by Dan Howley (47-53) on June 14
1924	Waterbury Brasscos	Eastern League	89-63	1st	none	none League Champs
1925	Waterbury Brasscos	Eastern League	88-66	1st	none	none League Champs
1926	Waterbury Brasscos	Eastern League	58-93	7th	none	none
1927	Hartford Senators	Eastern League	72-81	6th	none

Related Sites

• Kitty Bransfield at the SABR Bio Project