William F. Henley Buck was an American professional baseball player and umpire.

Early life

Buck was the son of John M. and Mary B. and had a sister. His university preparation was at St. Timothy's Hall in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

, and his undergrad study was at Princeton University, where he graduated in 1870. He then did post-graduate study in medicine for two years at the University of Maryland. He was a Presbyterian and did not marry.

At Princeton

He was a member of the Princeton University's Nassau Baseball Club first nine (starting lineup) in the 1866–67 season as a shortstop. The team was also known as the Pickwick Nine, playing under that name because the faculty refused to allow them to leave campus for some games. In 1867–68 he played at third base, left field, and second base. The team became known as the Princeton University Baseball Club in 1868–69. That year he remained listed as third baseman for the first nine, again occasionally playing at second. In 1869–70 he was made captain and played center field, but also played shortstop, second base, and even catcher. Buck graduated in 1870, and in 1871 moved back to his home of Baltimore. He continued to be involved in amateur baseball. In May, 1871 he was the umpire of a game between Harvard and Brown.

Career

In Baltimore, he joined the local team, the Baltimore Pastime Club, playing in games against the Philadelphia Athletic Club, and the Olympics of Washington, DC. In October 1871, he played in a game which was arranged to as a benefit to support victims of the Great Chicago Fire. Buck also umpired two National Association games in , as the home plate umpire in both games. He also played for the

Baltimore Marylands The Baltimore Marylands were a short-lived professional baseball team that existed in the National Association season. Their existence consisted of a six games from April 14 to July 11, and finished with a win–loss record of 0–6. In tho ...

and Baltimore Enterprise clubs.Twenty Years After, Class of '70, Princeton College, p10

Death

Buck died June 10, 1890, in Boston, Massachusetts and was buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore.

References

*Presbrey, Frank, and James Hugh Moffatt, eds. Athletics at Princeton: A History. Frank Presbrey Company, 1901. accessed November 10, 2016, at https://archive.org/details/athleticsatprin00presgoog *Twenty Years After, Class of '70, Princeton College: Record of the Members, Issue 3; Issues 1870–1890, Sherman & Company, 1891. p10-11. accessed November 10, 2016, at https://books.google.com/books?id=0H8aAAAAYAAJ&dq=1870%20princeton%20baltimore%20buck&pg=PA11 {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, William Year of birth missing 1890 deaths Princeton University alumni Major League Baseball umpires 19th-century baseball umpires Baseball players from Baltimore