William Wilson Hallman (March 31, 1867 – September 11, 1920) was an American professional

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 ...

player. He played in

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), ...

(MLB) as a second baseman from to . He played for six teams during his 14-year career, including one stint as a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

Career

After spending two years with the Philadelphia Quakers, Hallman attempted to jump to the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

. When the Quakers sought a legal injunction against the move, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas refused to enforce Hallman's contract with the Quakers. The court pointed out that the contract was so one-sided (allowing the team to dispense with Hallman for virtually any reason) that it was unenforceable. Although he was primarily a second baseman, he did eventually play every position on the

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

, including one game as a pitcher in . In 1897, Hallman was a player-manager for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. Hallman was 13-46 as a manager; he served as the third of four managers in a disastrous 29-102 season. Hallman owns one significant Major League recorded as the only player in history to improve his batting average in nine consecutive seasons, beginning at .206 in 1888 and ending at .320 in 1896. Though a handful of players of Hallman's generation also made appearances in theater, most of them were brief parts with little dialogue. Author Jerrold Casway wrote that Hallman and

Mike Donlin Michael Joseph Donlin (May 30, 1878 – September 24, 1933) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and actor. As a professional baseball player, his MLB career spanned from 1899 to 1914 in which he played mainly in the National L ...

were the only two ballplayers who could have traded in their baseball careers for careers in theater. Hallman last appeared in the major leagues in 1903, but he continued playing or managing in the Western League or

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

through 1909. Hallman's nephew

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

played in the majors for four seasons as 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 cat ...

Post-career

Hallman died at his Philadelphia home of heart disease after being sick for about four months. He was interred at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in

Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Cheltenham is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 19012. It is located directly over the city line (Cheltenham Avenue) of Philadelphia. It also borders Northeast ...

References

External links

*
See photos of Bill Hallman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallman, Bill 1867 births 1920 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Pittsburgh Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Major League Baseball player-managers Philadelphia Quakers players Philadelphia Athletics (AA 1891) players Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns (NL) players St. Louis Browns managers Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Minor league baseball managers Wilkes-Barre (minor league baseball) players Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Milwaukee Creams players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players Savannah Pathfinders players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Savannah Indians players Albany Senators players Columbia Gamecocks players Philadelphia Athletics (PL) players

Career

Post-career

See also

References

External links