William Edward Donovan

William Edward Donovan

:"For other uses, see Bill Donovan, William Donovan, or Wild Bill".----Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#bd5d29
bgcolor2=#003366
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Bill Donovan


width = 250px
position=Pitcher
birthdate=October 13, 1876
city-state|Lawrence|Massachusetts
deathdate=death date and age|1923|12|9|1876|10|13
city-state|Forsyth|New York
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=April 22
debutyear=by|1898
debutteam=Washington Senators
finaldate=September 2
finalyear=by|1918
finalteam=Detroit Tigers
stat1label=Win-Loss Record
stat1value=186-139
stat2label=Earned Run Average
stat2value=2.69
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=1552
teams=
*Washington Senators (1898)
*Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1902)
*Detroit Tigers (1903-1912/1918)
*New York Yankees (1915-1916)
highlights=
*Played in three World Series, 1907-1909, with a record of 1-4
* National League Wins Leader in 1901 with 25
* American League Win Percentage Leader in 1907, .862
* American League Leader in Complete Games, 1903 with 34
* Ranks No. 50 on all time Major League Complete Games list

William Edward Donovan (October 13, 1876December 9, 1923), nicknamed Wild Bill, was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball. He played eighteen seasons with the Washington Senators (1898), Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1902), Detroit Tigers (1903-1912; 1918), and New York Yankees (1915-16).

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Donovan won his "Wild Bill" nickname while playing for Hartford in the minors. When Hartford teammate Cy Seymour was returned to the Major Leagues after throwing wildly over a fence behind home plate, Donovan walked 9 consecutive batters. Donovan received a $10 fine and a new nickname. [ [http://www.deadball.com/donovan.htm Legends of the Game ] at www.deadball.com]

Donovan made his major league debut on April 22, 1898. During his first three seasons, he was a seldom used reliever on Superbas teams that won consecutive National League pennants, in by|1899 and by|1900. With the departure of pitchers Joe McGinnity and Gus Weyhing from the team after the 1900 season, Donovan became a starting pitcher of 38 games, posting a 25-15 won-loss record with a 2.77 ERA in 351 innings.

Donovan moved to the American League's Detroit Tigers in by|1903, where he would continue his pitching success alongside teammates George Mullin, Sam Crawford, and later Ty Cobb. In the by|1907 season, the team won the American League pennant behind Donovan's league-leading winning percentage of .862, in which he went 25-4, a mark that remains the highest single-season winning percentage in Tigers history. Appearing in three World Series (1907-09), he went 1-4 with a 2.88 ERA. Donovan also became the first pitcher to lose consecutive deciding games in the World Series in 1908-09.

On May 7, 1906, Donovan accomplished a rare feat even for the best base stealers. He stole second base, third base, and on the front end of a double steal took home in the 5th inning of an 8-3 victory over Cleveland. He also hit a triple in the same game. [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Donovan_Wild_Bill.stm Wild Bill Donovan | BaseballLibrary.com ] at www.baseballlibrary.com]

An arm injury ended his career in 1912. [ [http://www.baseballhistorian.com/html/american_heroes.cfm?page=31 Baseball Historian - Part of the Sports Historian Network ] at www.baseballhistorian.com]

He was player-manager for the Yankees from by|1915 to by|1917 and a coach for the Tigers in by|1918. He made several spot appearances for the Yankees and Tigers, including one final start on the last day of the 1918 season, which he won. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060330&content_id=1372512&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det Ageless Rogers leads young staff | tigers.com: News ] at mlb.mlb.com] He later served as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for part of the by|1921 season, being replaced after 44 games by Kaiser Wilhelm.

Donovan was accused of having some knowledge of the attempt to throw the 1919 World Series but was vindicated by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and sent an apology from his accuser, William Baker, President of the Philadelphia Phillies. [ [http://www.deadball.com/donovan.htm Legends of the Game ] at www.deadball.com]

In June 1923, while traveling on the 20th Century Limited train to Chicago, Illinois for Major League meetings, Donovan, the New Haven manager, died when the train wrecked in Forsyth, New York. [ [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Donovan.William.Obit.html TheDeadballEra.com :: WILD BILL DONOVAN'S OBIT ] at www.thedeadballera.com] New Haven president George Weiss had swapped berths with Donovan and escaped with a minor injury. Phillies owner William F. Baker (the man who accused him of wrongdoing in the Black Sox scandal) was also on the train, but he was unhurt. [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Donovan_Wild_Bill.stm Wild Bill Donovan | BaseballLibrary.com ] at www.baseballlibrary.com]

In 378 career games, Donovan had a 186-139 won-loss total and threw 2964 ⅜ innings with 289 complete games and a 2.69 ERA.

Notes

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
* List of Major League Baseball saves champions
* List of Major League Baseball wins champions
* MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
* 1909 Detroit Tigers season

External links

* [http://baseballreference.com/d/donovbi01.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] - career playing statistics and managing record
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Donovan.William.Obit.html Donovan Obituary from The New York Times ]


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