William Lindsay (June 12, 1891 – September 1, 1914), nicknamed "The Kansas Cyclone" and "Lightning", was a

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. Lindsay started his career with the

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

based Kansas City Giants at the age of 18. His death certificate states that he played ball starting at the age of 14, in 1905."Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N74R-5G9 : accessed 31 Dec 2012), William Lindsay, 01 Sep 1914
/ref> He played for the Kansas City Giants for two years, then moved to 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 ...

in 1910 where he remained until a court battle split the Leland Giants in 1910."Frank C. Leland Enjoined From Using the Name Leland Giants" Chicago Broad Ax, Chicago, IL, Page 2, Column 2
/ref> Lindsay moved to the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Fo ...

, where he stayed until 1914. During the California Winter Leagues, one writer claimed Lindsay and catcher

Bill Pettus William Thomas Pettus (August 13, 1884 – August 22, 1924) was an American baseball first baseman in the Cuban League and Negro leagues. He played from 1902 to 1921 with several teams. Career Pettus began playing baseball in 1902 for the Albuque ...

were one of the best batteries "ever seen in this strip of sunshine." Lindsay died in Chicago in 1914 at the age of 23 after he spent 9 days in Provident Hospital with what appears to have been problems with his urinary tract. The coroner's notes appear to say

Uremia Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be nor ...

, which contributed to a Uremic Coma and

Sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. His body was taken to Charles Jackson's Chapel, where services were held, and then was returned to his birthplace, Lexington, Missouri. His pall bearers were fellow ball players Pete Booker,

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

Bruce Petway Bruce Franklin Petway (December 23, 1885 – July 4, 1941) was an American Negro league baseball catcher in the early 20th century who came to be known as having one of the best throwing arms in the league. He is also said to have been one of the ...

Frank Wickware Frank Wickware (March 8, 1888 – November 2, 1967), nicknamed "Rawhide" and "The Red Ant", was a baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues from 1909 to 1925. In a nationally syndicated article written in 1915, it was said that Wickware "is anoth ...

, Jesse Barber, and Lee Wade."Bill Lindsey's Record" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, September 12, 1914, Page 4, Column 3
/ref> Lindsay was the brother of fellow Negro leaguer Robert "Frog" Lindsay. His parents, listed on his death certificate, were Peter Lindsay and Mona Mady Lindsay. Another relative, Walter Lindsay, is listed as an informant on his death certificate. Bill Lindsay is also listed as single. The day he died

Rube Foster Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been per ...

said of Lindsay, "I have lost a great ball player, a fine gentleman and a noble friend." Researchers with the

Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project The Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project is an effort started by Peoria, Illinois anesthesiologist Jeremy Krock and with support of the Society for American Baseball Research to put a proper headstone on the graves of former Negro league bas ...

have been looking for Lindsay's grave in Lexington, Missouri, but it has not yet been found.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, William Negro league baseball managers Leland Giants players Chicago American Giants players 1891 births 1914 deaths Deaths from sepsis 20th-century African-American sportspeople Kansas City Giants players Baseball players from Missouri People from Lexington, Missouri