William John Speas, Sr. (August 17, 1887 – January 13, 1969) was a long-time minor league baseball player and manager. He played in the minor leagues for 22 seasons, from 1906 to 1927, and managed at that level from 1918 to 1929.

Playing career

Speas began his professional career as an 18-year-old in 1906, suiting up for the

Mansfield Giants The Mansfield Giants are a basketball club from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies ...

of the

Ohio–Pennsylvania League The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1905–1912) was a Class C (baseball), Class C and Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded b ...

. He remained in that league until 1908, moving to the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the first time in 1909, playing for the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. Moving to the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

in 1911, Speas remained there until partway through the 1913 campaign, when he returned to Portland and the PCL, where he remained until 1916. He also spent part of 1916 with the PCL's San Francisco Seals. During the height of his career, Speas was considered one of the best fielders in the Pacific Coast League and was once said to have had the best throwing arm in the league. He bounced around the

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Pacific Coast International League The Pacific Coast International League was a minor league baseball league that played between 1918 and 1922. The Class B level league franchises were based in the Northwest United States and British Columbia. History The Pacific Coast Internati ...

, PCL,

Western Canada League The Western Canada League was the name of three different baseball circuits in Minor League Baseball that operated between 1907 and 1921. The first instance of the league was a Class D circuit that played only in 1907 with four teams sponsored b ...

and Western League from 1917 to 1921, finally settling down in the

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

, where he remained for the rest of his playing career, until 1927. It was in the Mississippi Valley League that Speas posted the best offensive statistics of his career. From 1921 to 1924, he never hit below .326, and in 1922 and 1923, he hit .382 and .363, respectively. He finished second in the league in batting average in 1922 (trailing Freddy Leach by only a single point) and he led the league in 1923. He led the Western Canada League with a .350 batting average in 1921, as well. Speas finished his career with a .284 batting average. He had 2,490 hits in 2,430 games.

Managerial career

Speas managed the Tacoma Tigers (1918), Regina Senators (1919–1921),

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(1922–1925, 1929), Dubuque Speasmen (named after Speas, 1926), Dubuque Dubs (1927–1928) and

Ottumwa Packers The Ottumwa Packers was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams that played between 1890 and 1928, based in Ottumwa, Iowa. Ottumwa teams played as members of the Illinois-Iowa League (1890–1891), Eastern Iowa League (1895), Weste ...

(1928). In 1922 and 1925, he led the Cedar Rapids Bunnies to first-place finishes in the Mississippi Valley League. Since no postseason was played in either year, they were ''de facto'' league champions. A similar situation unfolded in 1927, when he led the Dubuque Dubs to a first-place finish in the Mississippi Valley League.

Personal life

Speas was born in

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on August 17, 1887, to Fred W. and Minnie (Eble) Speas. His son, William Speas, played in the minor leagues in the 1930s and 1940s. He died on January 13, 1969, with a last known residence in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speas, Bill 1887 births 1969 deaths Minor league baseball players Minor league baseball managers