William Beneditto Renna (October 14, 1924 – June 19, 2014) 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), ...

, playing mainly as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for four teams in part of five seasons spanning –. Listed at , , Renna batted and threw right-handed. Nicknamed "Big Bill", he was one of the first of several Santa Clara University graduates to reach the Major League level. Born in

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

, Renna was the son of William and Christina Renna. He graduated from Hanford Union High School in 1942, and attended

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

before joining the U.S. Marine Corps and serving in the South Pacific during World War II. After discharge, Renna attended

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

before transferring to SCU in 1947, where he was an outstanding athlete while playing baseball, basketball and football. Renna played in the East–West Shrine Game in 1949 and was selected for the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n team that year. Bill's first year in pro baseball was with the 1949 Twin Falls Cowboys. Bill's manager with that team, Charlie Metro, had this to say about him: "Bill Renna was a big football player at Santa Clara who the Yankees signed and sent to Twin Falls his first year. He hit like heck up there, and they called him 'Bull,' because he was a big guy. He was a delight to have on the team.... I had difficulty with the college players. They had their minds set on the way they wanted to play. Not all of them were problems though. Bill Renna, from Santa Clara College, was great, one of the finest players I had enjoyed handling." Renna entered the majors in 1953 with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, playing one season for them before joining the Philadelphia Athletics (1954),

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

(1955–1956) and

Boston Red Sox 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 eigh ...

(1958–1959). As a rookie in 1953, Renna hit a .314

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 ...

in 61 games for the Yankees, while in 1958, playing for the Red Sox, he hit .268 with four

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 slugged .571 in 39 games, driving in 18 runs on 15

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

appearances. His most productive season came in 1954 with the Philadelphia Athletics, when he posted career numbers in home runs (13), runs scored (52),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(53) and games (123), while hitting a .254 average. He led American League right fielders with five double plays, while tying for third overall among all outfielders behind

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black pl ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

' Chuck Diering (six apiece). In a six-season career, Renna was a .239 hitter (219-for-918) and slugged .391 with 28 home runs and 119 RBI in 370 games, including 123 runs, 36 doubles, 10 triples, two stolen bases and a .315 on-base percentage. He also played 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 ...

in part of seven seasons from 1949 to 1959, collecting a .287 average with 139 homers and 312 RBI in 741 game appearances. Renna entered the baseball record books while playing for the Kansas City Blues of the

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 ...

. On June 29, 1952, the Blues belted 10 home runs against the St. Paul Saints to set a league mark for most home runs in a single game by one team. Kansas City amassed 53

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

and hit six homers in an inning (also AA marks) en route to a 17-4 win.

Roy Partee Roy Robert Partee (September 7, 1917 – December 27, 2000) was a Major League Baseball catcher. Listed at , , Partee was nicknamed the "Little Round Man." He is likely best remembered as the man behind the plate for Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" i ...

hit three homers (including two in the big inning) while Renna, Vic Power and

Kal Segrist Kal Hill Segrist (April 14, 1931 – June 26, 2015) was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1955). Listed at 6' 0", 180 lb., Segrist batted and threw right-handed. He ...

added two apiece and

Andy Carey Andrew Arthur Carey (born Andrew Arthur Hexem, October 18, 1931 – December 15, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1952–1960), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1 ...

hit one. Renna was a longtime resident of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, where he died in 2014 at the age of 89.

References

Sources

Baseball in WartimeBill Renna
- Baseballbiography.com
Baseball ReferenceObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renna, Bill 1924 births 2014 deaths All-American college baseball players Binghamton Triplets players Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball outfielders Menlo Oaks baseball players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tars players Baseball players from Hanford, California Philadelphia Athletics players Quincy Gems players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Francisco Dons baseball players Santa Clara Broncos baseball players Santa Clara Broncos football players Twin Falls Cowboys players United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II