William Oscar Ayers (September 27, 1919 – September 24, 1980) was an American

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), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from Newnan, Georgia. He played for the New York Giants during the season.

Early life

Ayers was born on August 27, 1919 in Newnan, Georgia. His brother Lonzo "Tommy" Ayers eventually went on to play professional baseball from 1947–49. Ayers enlisted for service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for World War II on July 10, 1943 at Fort McPherson in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Career

Ayers started his professional career playing for the Shelby Cardinals in the 1937 season. He played for consequent teams the Andalusia Bulldogs, the

Gastonia Cardinals The Gastonia Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina on two separate occasions, playing as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in both instances. The first Gastonia Cardinals team played as mem ...

, the Daytona Beach Islanders, and the Cordele Bees before taking a 3-year hiatus from 1939–1942. He briefly played for the Savannah Indians, before transferring to the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

. In 1943, Ayers signed up for military service in World War II. Ayers was with the 65th Infantry Division in Europe in 1945, and pitched for the division baseball team following the German surrender. Ayers perfected his

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in th ...

during this time and the 65th Infantry Division were II Corps champions. He was then selected to play for the 71st Infantry Division – Third Army representatives – in the 1945 ETO World Series in September 1945. Returning to the

in 1946, Ayers had an outstanding season with a 21-10 record and 1.95 ERA. On August 8, went the distance for Atlanta in a 21-inning 4-4 tie with Mobile. Sold to the New York Giants along with Earl McGowan and Lloyd Gearhart, he was a spring training sensation for the Giants, allowing only two earned runs in 23 innings. He made his major league debut on April 17, 1947 as the team's number two starter, but lasted only three and two-thirds innings against the Phillies, giving up seven hits. The Giants traded Ayers to Oakland in the Pacific League at the end of 1950 where he flourished with a 20-13 season in 1951. He pitched for the Havana Reds in the Cuban League in 1952 and led the team to the Caribbean Series crown in Panama that year. After a slow start in 1953, the Oaks peddled Ayers to Wenatchee in the

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International Leagu ...

, but the 33-year-old refused to report and returned to his home in Newnan, Georgia. In 1954, he briefly reappeared in the minors with Montgomery in the South Atlantic League. Ayers later played for the

once more during the 1954 season before retiring.

Personal life

After his baseball career, Ayers was a route mail clerk for the U.S. Postal Service. He died from a heart attack while golfing on September 24, 1980 in Newnan, Georgia. He died three days before his 61st birthday. He was inducted in the Coweta Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, Bill 1919 births 1980 deaths New York Giants (NL) players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Shelby Cardinals players Andalusia Bulldogs players Gastonia Cardinals players Daytona Beach Islanders players Cordele Bees players Savannah Indians players Atlanta Crackers players Jersey City Giants players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Montgomery Rebels players United States Army personnel of World War II