Frederick William Veil (August 2, 1881 – April 16, 1931) was a

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), ...

pitcher. He pitched for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in 1903 and 1904.

Career

Frederick played both baseball and football at

Williamsport High School Williamsport High School is a public high school in Williamsport, Washington County, Maryland, United States. Baseball team The school's baseball team, and its coach David Warrenfeltz, were the subject of a 2012 ''Sports Illustrated'' artic ...

, the latter of which earned him the nickname "Bucky" for his mastery of the buck-lateral. In January 1901 Veil attended

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

on a baseball scholarship. That summer he pitched for a semi-pro team in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, where he was scouted by

owner

Barney Dreyfuss Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Drey ...

. Veil signed a contract with Dreyfuss in October 1902, and joined his former Bucknell teammate

Jimmy Sebring James Dennison Sebring (March 22, 1882–December 22, 1909), was a professional baseball player who played outfield from 1902 to 1909. He attended college at Bucknell University. He played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ...

during the 1903 season. Veil appeared in the second game of the inaugural

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, becoming the first relief pitcher in World Series history. Veil return to Altoona in 1904 and played his final Major League season. From 1905 to 1909 Veil played in the minor leagues: * 1905-1906, 1907 Columbus Senators (American Association) * 1907 Williamsport Millionaires (Tri-State League) * 1908 Binghamton Bingoes (New York State League) * 1908 Wilkes-Barre Barons (New York State League) 1909 Wilmington/Sunbury (Atlantic League) In 1909 he also managed with Wilmington/Sunbury.

External links

Major League Baseball pitchers 1881 births 1931 deaths Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Cortland Wagonmakers players Newport News Shipbuilders players Columbus Senators players Binghamton Bingoes players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub