William Fort McAfee, Jr. (September 7, 1907 – July 8, 1958) was an American baseball

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 ...

and politician. He played

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), ...

from 1930 to 1934 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

, Washington Senators, and

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 ...

. He appeared in 83 major league games, all but seven as a relief pitcher, and compiled a record of 10-4 with an ERA of 5.69. He had his best season in 1932 when he was the starting pitcher in five games and compiled a 6-1 record and 3.92 ERA for the Senators. McAfee had played college baseball for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1927 to 1929 and participated in the

Michigan Wolverines baseball The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games ...

team's 13-game tour of Japan in the fall of 1929. He also played minor league baseball in the

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

for the

Reading Keystones The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Rea ...

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

, and

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. A native of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, McAfee later returned to his home state. He was elected and served as the mayor of Albany, Georgia. He died in a plane crash near

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

in 1958.

Early years

McAfee was born in

Smithville, Georgia Smithville is a city in Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 575 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office was established at Sm ...

in 1907. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, he was living in Smithville with his father William Fort McAfee, Sr. and two older sisters, Hilda and Mary. His father was a Georgia native and a widower. By 1920, the family had moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. The family consisted of McAfee's father, his second wife Lucy, stepmother to McAfee and his two older sisters; and a younger half-brother (age two). His father was employed as manager for International Harvester Company. McAfee played baseball and other sports in high school.

University of Michigan

McAfee enrolled at the

and played baseball for the

team in 1928 and 1929. In September 1929, he traveled to Japan with the Michigan baseball team for a month at the invitation of

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

. This was part of a series of interactions between the universities since after World War I. The team played against the Meiji and other university baseball teams during its month's stay, winning 11 of 13 games on its tour of the country. The team returned from Japan in October 1929 aboard the , sailing from Ray Fisher, Ernest McCoy, Louis Kubicek, and Ray Nebelung. McAfee was also a member of Michigamua and the

Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...

fraternity while at Michigan. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1930.

Professional baseball

At six feet, two inches, McAfee was considered "a giant" in the early 1930s. The tall right-handed pitcher began his

career with the

. He made his major league debut on May 12, 1930, two weeks after graduating from the University of Michigan. McAfee pitched only one inning for the Cubs over the course of two games. In one inning of work for the Cubs, he faced 10 batters and allowed three hits, two bases on balls, one wild pitch, and five unearned runs. Despite the rocky start, he did not allow an earned run and compiled a 0-0 record and 0.00 ERA with the Cubs. After his brief stint with the Cubs, McAfee spent most of the 1930 season with the

in the

. He appeared in 21 games for the Keystones and compiled a 7-8 record with a 6.22 ERA. In October 1930, the Cubs traded McAfee to the

in exchange for Bobby Smith. In April 1930, ''The Sporting News'' reported on the expectations for McAfee: "McAfee did not show much promise in the conditioning search at St. Pete, but before the team left he was going along on high, illMcKechnie spoke glowingly of his fast ball, curve, control and his pitching sagacity. It's almost too much to expect McAfee to fill Bobby Smith's shoes, but McKechnie will be a bit disappointed if McAfee does not step in as a regular starter." McAfee appeared in 18 games for the Braves during the 1931 season, all but one as a relief pitcher. He compiled a 0-1 records with a 6.37 ERA. McAfee spent most of the 1932 season as the property of the

, but playing under option with the

in the

. He appeared in 23 games for the Royals, compiling an 8-9 record with a 4.70 ERA. McAfee joined the Washington Senators in August 1932. A trade had been announced to send McAfee and two other players to the

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

for Baxter Jordan, but Senators' owner Clark Griffith noted that McAfee had been optioned three times and claimed McAfee by the waiver route. In two months with the team, he compiled a 6-1 record with a 3.92

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in eight game (five as starter). During the 1933 season, Washington Senators manager

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

used McAfee to replace

Firpo Marberry Frederick "Firpo" Marberry (November 30, 1898 – June 30, 1976) was an American right-handed starting and relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1936, most notably with the Washington Senators. The sport's first prominent relieve ...

"as chief of the relief pitching brigade." However, McAfee's ERA soared to 6.62, the highest of his major league career, in 61-2/3 innings with the Senators in 1933. Even so, he compiled a 3-2 record in 1933. In June 1933, McAfee punched a spectator in Cleveland after being pulled from a game; McAfee had been "razzed" throughout the game by the "leather-lunged rooter." At the beginning of August 1933, McAfee was sent to the

in a deal for Ed Chapman. He appeared in 17 games for the Red Wings, compiling a 1-4 record with a 5.37 ERA. At the end of the 1933 season, the Red Wings sent McAfee to the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

in 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 February 15, 1934, the

acquired him from Columbus. During the 1934 season, McAfee appeared in 28 games for the Browns, all as a relief pitcher. He compiled a 1-0 record with a 5.84 ERA. This season was also notable in that McAfee set a current mark for the lowest single-season strikeout rate among qualified major-league relievers ever, at 3.8%. In February 1935, McAfee announced that he was retiring from baseball to pursue a business career in Chicago with his father.

Later years and family

After retiring from baseball, McAfee returned to his home state and lived in Albany, Georgia. He was the co-owner of a truck and tractor company, a distributor for

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

, and was active in promoting Little League and PONY League baseball in Albany. He was also elected as the mayor of Albany in 1956 and again in 1958. He held the position at the time of his death. McAfee was active in securing funding to construct the

Southwest Georgia Regional Airport Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is an airport four miles southwest of Albany, in Dougherty County, Georgia, in the United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''primary commercial servic ...

terminal which was posthumously named in his honor in 1959. McAfee was married to Lillian Foote McAfee. They had a son, William Fort McAfee III (1937–2011), and a daughter, Linda (McAfee) Halford. In July 1958, McAfee died in a plane crash near

. He was traveling with friends, including the president of the Citizens' and Southern Bank of Albany, in a twin-engined plane to the

1958 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1958 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 25th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 8, ...

in Baltimore. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Albany.baseball-almanac.com
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAfee, Bill 1907 births 1958 deaths Mayors of Albany, Georgia Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Boston Braves players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players St. Louis Browns players Michigan Wolverines baseball players Montreal Royals players Newark Bears (IL) players Reading Keystones players Rochester Red Wings players Accidental deaths in Virginia Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) American athlete-politicians People from Lee County, Georgia Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia 20th-century American politicians Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1958 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States