William Thomas Pettus (August 13, 1884 – August 22, 1924) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 ...

in the

Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

and

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

. He played from 1902 to 1921 with several teams.

Career

Pettus began playing baseball in 1902 for the Albuquerque, New Mexico team, staying there until the end of the 1903 season."Frank Lelands' Chicago Giants Base Ball Club" Fraternal Printing Company, 1910
/ref> He often went by the nickname "Zack" Pettus. In addition to baseball, in his twenties, Pettus made money boxing and working in the coal mine near Madrid, New Mexico."Kennedy Will Box Bill Pettus" Albuquerque Morning Journal, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tuesday, December 22, 1908, Page 4, Column 3
/ref> Pitcher

Babe Adams Charles Benjamin "Babe" Adams (May 18, 1882 – July 27, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1906 to 1926 who spent nearly his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Noted for his outstanding control, ...

said of Pettus's early days, he was "one of the best catchers in the baseball world.""Pettus Caught for Babe Adams." Albuquerque Morning Journal, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wednesday, October 20, 1909, Page 3, Column 1
/ref> In 1904, Pettus played on the white teams of San Francisco and Oakland California, and was the only black player on those teams. In 1905, he returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico to manage and captain the team, which was made up of ten Mexicans and two colored ball players. The team won 48 out of 49 games, losing only one. In 1906, Pettus again was the only black player on a white team when he played for the Albuquerque, New Mexico team. In 1907 and 1908, Pettus caught for the Santa Fe, New Mexico Salmon Grays. During 1908–1909 he played for the Occidental Club, a black baseball team in Los Angeles, California. In 1909, Pettus played first base for the Kansas City Giants. At the end of that year, he re-joined the Occidental Club in Los Angeles. In 1910, Pettus joined the Chicago Giants, a

Frank Leland Frank C. Leland (1869 – November 14, 1914) was an American baseball player, field manager and club owner in the Negro leagues. Early life and career beginnings Leland was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, ...

team that had recently broken off of the

Leland Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...

after a legal battle over naming rights."Frank C. Leland Enjoined From Using the Name Leland Giants" Chicago Broad Ax, Chicago, IL, Page 2, Column 2
/ref> Pettus would play there for two seasons, touring much of the upper midwest. He played winter ball in the 1911–1912 season for

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, and returned to split the season between the

Brooklyn Royal Giants The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initially played against white semi-pro teams. ...

and the New York Lincoln Stars where he played on and off until 1916, continuing on in this way playing on and off with the

Lincoln Giants The Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930. Founding The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians, of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According to Sol White, ...

until 1920.

Death

Pettus died on August 22, 1924, in New York City at the age of 40. He is buried at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in New York, New York.
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettus, Bill 1884 births 1924 deaths Hilldale Club players Brooklyn Royal Giants players Habana players Baseball players from Texas American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Chicago Giants players Harrisburg Giants players Lincoln Giants players Lincoln Stars (baseball) players Philadelphia Giants players Richmond Giants players Kansas City Giants players