William John O'Neill (January 22, 1880 – July 20, 1920) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

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), ...

who played for the

Boston Americans The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1904), Washington Senators (1904) and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1906). O'Neill was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

, Canada. Playing at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

in his 1904

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season for the Red Sox, O'Neill committed six errors during a 13-inning 5–3 loss to the St Louis Browns on May 21 to become the only 20th-century Major League player to record six errors in a game. In the midseason he was traded to Washington in the same transaction that brought

Kip Selbach Albert Karl (Kip) Selbach (March 24, 1872 – February 17, 1956) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1894 through 1906, he played for the Washington Senators (NL), Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Washington ...

to Boston. In 1906 O'Neill was a member of the Chicago White Sox team that won the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

over the Chicago Cubs in six games. In a two-season career, O'Neill was a .243 hitter with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 42 RBI in 206 games played. O'Neill died in Woodhaven, New York, at the age of 40.

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External links

Baseball ReferencesBaseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Bill 1880 births 1920 deaths Boston Americans players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Chicago White Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Canada Canadian baseball players Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Baseball people from New Brunswick Sportspeople from Saint John, New Brunswick Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Lynn Shoemakers players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players

See also

References

External links