Rivington Bisland

Rivington Martin Bisland

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 155 lb.

• Debut September 13, 1912
• Final Game June 12, 1914
• Born February 17, 1890 in New York, NY USA
• Died January 11, 1973 in Salzburg, Austria

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Biographical Information

Rivington Bisland, a major leaguer with a notable unusual name, played three seasons with three different teams. A shortstop, he broke in at age 22 with the 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates where he was never likely to replace the incumbent, a guy named Honus Wagner. Bisland had one at-bat after being purchased from Atlanta of the Southern Association. The Pirates had possibly decided to take a look at him because Wagner's backup was Jim Viox, who hit .186 that year. In 1913, Bisland had 44 at-bats with the St. Louis Browns, a team whose regular shortstop, Mike Balenti, hit .180. The team tried several others at short, and Bisland had by far the highest fielding percentage. However, he hit only .136. The next year, Doc Lavan won the job, even though he had had the worst fielding percentage in 1913 and had hit .141. Bisland moved to the Cleveland Naps in 1914, getting 57 at-bats and hitting .105. Bisland had by far the highest fielding percentage on the team among the shortstops, but he could not displace regular Ray Chapman.

The name "Rivington Bisland" is unusual enough that it is probably worthwhile to note that there is a Rivington Bisland who is a senior executive with Game Broadcasting Live LLC, an Internet gaming company.