William Henry Holbert (March 14, 1855 – March 20, 1935) was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

baseball leagues, from 1876 through 1888. He holds the Major League record for career at-bats without a home run, failing to do so in his 2,335 at-bats. However, he was playing in an era when

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

were more common than home runs, due to the spacious parks and poor quality of the balls used. Bill Holbert started his career with the nascent

Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were a ...

of 1876. He sat out the 1877 year and, in 1878, played for the

Milwaukee Grays The Milwaukee Grays were a short-lived baseball team that spent one year, 1878, in the National League. The team was part of the League Alliance, loosely affiliated with the National League, in 1877. It won 19 games and lost 13 (including a 10– ...

, followed by the Syracuse Stars, and the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

(both in 1879). Holbert is also credited with managing one game, a loss, in 1879 while with the Syracuse Stars. He stayed with the Trojans, and the National League, until 1883, when he joined the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York ...

of the new

. The Metropolitans traded him to the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

after the 1887 season. Bill Holbert retired in 1888, playing just 15 games with the Bridegrooms that year. When the new

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

started up in 1890, Holbert was one of the original umpires.

Major league career

Bill Holbert's career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

was a weak .208, with a

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, a ...

at a very low .237. Although batting averages were generally low in the 19th century and more so for catchers, Holbert's was lower than the average. The 1879 Syracuse Stars, for example, had a team average of only .227, while Holbert hit .201. Holbert's best year was 1881, with Troy, when he hit .278. Even that year, nearly all – 46 out of 49 – of his hits were singles, and his

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

was a mediocre .284.Baseball-Reference.com
Nonetheless, he was considered a good defensive catcher, although these talents have been overshadowed by those of

Buck Ewing William "Buck" Ewing (October 17, 1859 – October 20, 1906) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. Renowned for his offensive and defensive skills, he was the first 19th-century catcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. C ...

, considered by most to be best catcher of the 19th century.James, p. 33. When not catching, Holbert would often play the outfield; he started 11% of his games there.

Notes

References

* James, Bill (1988) ''Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'', Villard Books, New York. *Nemec, David, (2004), ''The Beer and Whisky League: The Illustrated History of the American Association—Baseball's Renegade Major League'', The Lyons Press.
Sports Metrika, 1887 New York Metropolitans statistics
*Sugar, Bert Randolph (2004) ''The Baseball Maniac's Almanac'', McGraw-Hill, New York. *Morris, Peter (2009) ''Catcher, How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero'', Ivan R. Dee, Chicago.

External links

New York Metropolitans 1884 schedule at Baseball AlmanacNew York Metropolitans at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbert, Bill Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Maryland 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball player-managers Louisville Grays players Milwaukee Grays players Troy Trojans players New York Metropolitans players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Syracuse Stars (NL) players People from Laurel, Maryland 1855 births 1935 deaths Pittsburgh Allegheny players

Major league career

See also

Notes

References

External links