Bill Monroe (1900s infielder)

For other people named William Monroe, see William Monroe (disambiguation).
Bill Monroe
Born: (1878-03-16)March 16, 1878
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died: March 16, 1915(1915-03-16) (aged 37)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams

William S. Monroe (March 16, 1878 – March 16, 1915) was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues. He was also known by the nickname of "Money." During a 19-year career from 1896 to 1914, he played on many of the greatest teams in black baseball. He was a good hitter and slick fielding third base and second baseman who was compared to major league star Jimmy Collins.[4] Monroe played all four infield positions, but spent his prime seasons at third base and second base.

Monroe was known for his showmanship, and entertained crowds with feats such as catching "Texas Leaguers" behind his back and kicking ground balls to make them bounce into his hands. In a 1952 Pittsburgh Courier newspaper poll to select the greatest Negro league ballplayers of history, Monroe was named as the third-team second baseman behind Jackie Robinson and Bingo DeMoss.[5] He was one of 94 Negro league candidates initially recommended by the National Baseball Hall of Fame's screening committee for the 2006 Hall of Fame election by the Committee on African American Baseball, though he did not make the list of 39 names that ultimately appeared on the ballot.

  1. ^ "Giants Were Twice Defeated" The Patriot, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Friday, September 11, 1903, Page 7, Columns 1 and 2
  2. ^ "Colored Brethren Can Wallop a Few" The Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY, Tuesday Morning, May 3, 1910, Page 10, Columns 2 and 3
  3. ^ "Bears Romp Away from Giants 8 to 1" The San Diego Union, San Diego, CA, Monday Morning, December 30, 1912, Page 8, Column 1
  4. ^ Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  5. ^ "FAQs". Pitch Black Negro League site. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.