Bill Swansboro

Wilbur Earl Swansboro

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 167 lb.

• Born August 1, 1897 in Girardville, PA USA
• Died December 1964 in Pennsylvania USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Bill Swansboro played 14 seasons in the minors, stopping one level shy of the majors.

He debuted with the 1920 Muskegon Muskies, hitting .257/.316/.314 while backing up Doc White at first base. Moving to the outfield the next season, he hit .339 and slugged .428. He had 26 assists. Among players with 100+ games, he was second in the Central League in average. He split 1922 between Muskegon and the Lansing Senators, hitting a combined .331.

In '23, he was with the Saginaw Aces (.321/?/.438, 10 3B) and briefly with the Syracuse Stars in the International League, one step below the majors (then called AA). He hit .460 in 13 games there! He remained there for all of 1924, producing at a .271/.333/.423 clip with 34 doubles, 10 triples and 27 steals. He was 6th in the 1924 IL in swipes. With the 1925 Stars, he was at .269/.326/.460 with 22 steals, 100 RBI, 15 triples and 16 home runs. Only Snooks Dowd and Hinkey Haines had more stolen bases and only George Quellich had more triples. He once held (and perhaps still holds) the International League record for most straight at-bats without a hit at 32.

He slumped for the 1926 Stars (6-for-40 with a double) and would not return to the highest level of the minors. He spent the rest of the year with the Hartford Senators (.270/?/.365 in 19 G) and St. Joseph Saints (.303/?/.444 in 93 G). He would spent the next six years in the Western League. He hit .306 and slugged .459 for the Amarillo Texans, legging out 20 triples. He was third in the WL in triples, behind Sam Langford and Joe Rabbitt. He was 5th with 136 runs and tied Langford for the most stolen bases, 31.

Swansboro split 1928 between Amarillo and the Wichita Larks, with a combined batting line of .344/?/.524 with 31 doubles, 11 triples and 20 homers. He tied Dutch Wetzel for 8th in homers and went 20-20, finishing 4th with 25 steals (between Luther Harvel and Ox Eckhardt). In '29, the veteran smacked 43 doubles and 17 dingers for the Wichita Aviators, batting .321 and slugging .508. He tied Ted Gullic for 4th in doubles, was 3rd with 41 steals (after Bud Honea and Pug Griffin) and missed the top-10 in homers by one. He kept on rolling with the 1930 Aviators at .306/?/.527 with 27 doubles, 10 triples and 26 home runs for the champs. He tied Gus Dugas for second in homers (behind Stan Keyes) and was 5th in total bases.

For the 1931 Aviators, he hit .304 and slugged .492. He went deep 26 times and also had 30 doubles. Only Keyes (38) had more home runs. In '32, he batted .273 and slugged .415 between the Saints and and the Tulsa Oilers. After not appearing in 1933, he returned to his original Muskegon haunts in 1934, going 3-for-13 with a double and a triple.