William Henry Abstein (February 2, 1883 – April 8, 1940), nicknamed "Big Bill", was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

and amateur soccer player. He played all or part of three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player, from 1906 to 1910, primarily as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. He played in 170 games, with 150 hits, one home run, 76 RBI and a batting average of .242. He played for Pittsburgh during the 1909 World Series, appearing in all seven games and getting six hits. Abstein spent the 1904–05 St. Louis Association Foot Ball League season with Diel F.C. which was managed by

Thomas Cahill Thomas Quinn Cahill (March 29, 1940 – October 18, 2022) was an American scholar and writer. He was best known for ''The Hinges of History'' series, a prospective seven-volume series in which the author recounts formative moments in Western civ ...

. He later played for Memphis Chicks in the Southern League. During those years, he also played soccer as a midfielder for St. Leo's in the

St. Louis Soccer League The St. Louis Soccer League was based in St. Louis, Missouri and existed from 1915 to 1938. At its founding, it was the only fully professional soccer league in the United States. The league was founded from two teams from the St. Louis Soccer F ...

during the off-season.January 6, 1912 Sporting Life
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Soccer players from St. Louis Major League Baseball infielders Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Browns players Houston Wanderers players Shreveport Pirates (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Jersey City Skeeters players Memphis Chickasaws players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Seattle Giants players Wichita Witches players Colorado Springs Millionaires players Baseball players from St. Louis St. Louis Soccer League players St. Leo’s players 1883 births 1940 deaths Association football midfielders American soccer players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub