William Wade "Heinie" Heltzel (December 21, 1913 – May 1, 1998) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball as a shortstop and third baseman from 1935 to 1947, including stints with the

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 ...

in 1943 and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1944.

Biography

Heltzel was born in 1913 in York, Pennsylvania. He began playing professional baseball in 1935 with the Harrisburg Senators of the New York–Penn League. Over the next eight seasons, he continued in the minor leagues, playing for the

Trenton Senators Trenton may refer to: Places Canada *Trenton, Nova Scotia, a town *Trenton, Ontario, an unincorporated community *CFB Trenton, a Canadian Forces Base near Trenton, Ontario United States *Trenton, New Jersey, the capital of the state of New Jers ...

(1936-37), Greenville Spinners (1938),

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

(1938), Orlando Senators (1939), Reading Chicks (1940-41), Bridgeport Bees (1941), and

Hartford Bees Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

(1942-43). In 1943, Heltzel made his major league debut on July 27, 1943, with the Boston Braves. He appeared in twenty-nine games with the Braves during the 1940 season. He had thirteen hits and seven walks, scored six runs, and tallied five RBIs, eighteen putouts, forty-eight assists, and nine errors. In 1944, he appeared in eleven games for the Philadelphia Phillies. He appeared in his final major league game on August 6, 1944. His career

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

in twenty-nine games at third base was .880 – 68 points below the league average of .948 for third basemen during the years he played. Heltzel continued to play in the minor leagues for the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

(1944-45), Seattle Rainiers (1946), and York White Roses (1946-47).

Death

In May 1998, Heltzel died at the age of eighty-three in York, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heltzel, Heinie 1913 births 1998 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Boston Braves players Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from York, Pennsylvania