William McLaughlin

William McLaughlin
(Billy)
also known as James

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut May 3, 1884
• Final Game May 18, 1884
• Born July 3, 1861 in Sacramento County, CA USA
• Died March 21, 1936 in Gig Harbor, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Not much is known about William McLaughlin, who played 10 games as an infielder for the Washington Nationals in the Union Association in 1884. He also umpired one game in the circuit that year. There were three other McLaughlins active in the majors that year, and two of them played in the UA. Another man named William McLaughlin had been an umpire in the American Association two years earlier.

Billy McLaughlin came from California, where his family operated a ranch in Florin, CA, in Sacramento County, just south of Sacramento, CA. His brother Nicholas was also a ballplayer, although never in Organized Baseball. Billy became a police officer in Sacramento after he left baseball, but then moved to Washington State in the mid-1890s and played some baseball in Tacoma, WA. He continued to live around Tacoma and died in 1936 in Gig Harbor, WA, where one of his 9 children was living and had likely taken him in some time after the death of his wife Philena in 1925.

Further Reading

• "Billy McLaughlin", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, March/April, 2009, p. 2.