William Aloysius Beckmann (December 8, 1907 – January 2, 1990) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. He pitched all or part of four 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), ...

, from 1939 until 1942. He pitched mostly for the Philadelphia Athletics, but appeared in his last two major league games for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Prior to the minor leagues, he graduated from

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. Beckmann spent twelve years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

before his MLB debut. His professional career began in 1927 with the Danville Veterans of the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

. He remained in the minors until the Athletics selected him from 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 the rule 5 draft following the 1938 season. After the end of his MLB career, he pitched just one more season in the minors, playing for the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

in 1943.

References

External links

Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Athletics players St. Louis Cardinals players Philadelphia Athletics scouts Danville Veterans players Scottdale Scotties players Shawnee Robins players Springfield Red Wings players Houston Buffaloes players Columbus Red Birds players Knoxville Smokies players Atlanta Crackers players Rochester Red Wings players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington University Bears baseball players Baseball players from Missouri 1907 births 1990 deaths {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub