Will White

William Henry White
(Whoop-La)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut July 20, 1877
• Final Game July 5, 1886
• Born October 11, 1854 in Caton, NY USA
• Died August 31, 1911 in Port Carling, ON CAN

BR page

Biographical Information

"Will White, a brother of Deacon Jim White, was about the first to get the sharp curve ball, about '75." - Tim Murnane

The brother of Deacon White, Will White was the first professional baseball player to wear glasses. Will led the league in wins twice and in ERA once. When both of them were with the Cincinnati Reds, Will and Deacon sometimes formed a battery.

Will's lifetime ERA of 2.28 is # 16 on the all-time list, and his 229 wins are # 64 on the all-time list. He ranks # 17 on the all-time list for complete games, and #63 on the all-time list for shutouts. On the negative side, he is also # 8 on the all-time list for wild pitches, with a high of 49 in 1879 (which was a single-season record at the time he did it). In spite of setting the record, he was second in the league that year in ERA.

There are four Hall of Famers on his similarity scores list, and a fifth, Eddie Cicotte, might have gotten into the Hall if he had not been a Black Sox. The most similar player is Tommy Bond while the most similar Hall of Famer is Joe McGinnity.

Will also managed for 72 games during the 1884 season and umpired one National Association game in 1875.

In 1889 his brother Deacon and Jack Rowe owned the minor league Buffalo Bisons, but they ended up playing in the majors due to poor receipts and to threats of blacklisting. Will White became player-manager for the Bisons. After baseball Will studied optics and founded the Buffalo Optical Company. Source: Bisons History - the 1880's.

Although born around 7 years later than his brother Deacon, he died around 28 years earlier than Deacon. He much out-lived his cousin Elmer White, though, who died in 1872, years before Will came to the majors.

Notable Achievements

• AA ERA Leader (1883)
• 2-time AA Wins Leader (1882 & 1883)
• AA Winning Percentage Leader (1882)
• NL Games Pitched Leader (1879)
• 2-time League Innings Pitched Leader (1879/NL & 1882/AA)
• 2-time League Complete Games Leader (1879/NL & 1882/AA)
• 3-time AA Shutouts Leader (1882-1884)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 5 (1878, 1879 & 1882-1884)
• 30 Wins Seasons: 5 (1878, 1879 & 1882-1884)
• 40 Wins Seasons: 3 (1879, 1882 & 1883)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 7 (1878-1880 & 1882-1885)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (1878-1880 & 1882-1884)
• 400 Innings Pitched Seasons: 6 (1878-1880 & 1882-1884)
• 500 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1878, 1879 & 1883)
• 600 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1879)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1879)

Preceded by Pop Snyder

Cincinnati Red Stockings Manager 1884

Succeeded by O.P. Caylor

Records Held

• Games started, season, 75, 1879 (tied)
• Complete games, season, 73, 1879
• Innings Pitched, season, 680, 1879

Related Sites

• Will White at the SABR Bio Project