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{{short description|American baseball player}}
{{Redirect|Willie Foster|the musician|Little Willy Foster}}
{{Redirect|Willie Foster|the musician|Little Willy Foster|the football player|Willie Foster (gridiron football)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Bill Foster
| name = Bill Foster <br><small>Willie Foster<ref>https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=foste01bil</ref><ref>https://aaregistry.org/story/willie-foster-was-a-control-pitcher/</ref><ref>http://blackbaseball.com/2010/12/willie-bill-foster/</ref><ref>https://catalog.scpauctions.com/rare-and-important-c1927-willie-foster-chicago-am-lot27072.aspx</ref></small>
| image = Bill Foster Chicago.jpg
| image = Bill Foster Chicago.jpg
| position = Pitcher
| position = [[Pitcher]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|6|12|mf=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|6|12|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Calvert, Texas]]
| birth_place = [[Calvert, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|9|16|1904|6|12|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|9|16|1904|6|12|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Lorman, Mississippi]]
| death_place = [[Lorman, Mississippi]], U.S.
| bats = Switch
| bats = Switch
| throws = Left
| throws = Left
| debutleague = [[Negro National League (1920–1931)|Negro National League]]
| debutleague = Negro leagues
| debutdate = 1923
| debutdate =
| debutyear =
| debutyear = 1923
| debutteam = [[Memphis Red Sox]]
| debutteam = Memphis Red Sox
| finaldate = 1937
| finalleague = Negro leagues
| finalyear =
| finaldate =
| finalteam = [[Chicago American Giants]]
| finalyear = 1937
| finalteam = Chicago American Giants
| statyear =
| statyear =
| statleague = Negro leagues{{efn|On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball declared the Negro leagues, from the span of 1920–1948, to be a "Major League".<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB officially designates the Negro Leagues as 'Major League'|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-officially-designates-the-negro-leagues-as-major-league|website=MLB.com|date=December 16, 2020|accessdate=June 6, 2024|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407160742/https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-officially-designates-the-negro-leagues-as-major-league|url-status=live}}</ref> Foster's statistics reflect his time in the Negro leagues from 1923–1930 and from 1932 until the end of his career.}}
| statleague =
| stat1label = [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1label = [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1value = 143–69
| stat1value = 110–56
| stat2label = [[Earned run average]]
| stat2label = [[Earned run average]]
| stat2value = 2.40
| stat2value = 2.68
| stat3label =
| stat3label = [[Strikeout]]s
| stat3value =
| stat3value = 922
| teams =
| teams =
*[[Memphis Red Sox]] (1923–24)
*[[Memphis Red Sox]] ({{by|1923}}–{{by|1924}})
*[[Chicago American Giants]] (1923–1930, 1932–1935, 1937)
*[[Chicago American Giants]] ({{by|1923}}–{{by|1930}}, {{by|1932}}–{{by|1935}}, {{by|1937}})
*[[Birmingham Black Barons]] (1925)
*[[Birmingham Black Barons]] ({{by|1925}})
*[[Homestead Grays]] (1931)
*[[Homestead Grays]] ({{by|1931}})
*[[Kansas City Monarchs]] (1931)
*[[Kansas City Monarchs]] ({{by|1931}})
*[[Pittsburgh Crawfords]] (1936)
*[[Pittsburgh Crawfords]] ({{by|1936}})
| highlights =
| highlights =
* 2× [[East-West All-Star Game|All-Star]] (1933, 1934)
* 2× [[East-West All-Star Game|All-Star]] (1933, 1934)
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}}
}}


'''William Hendrick Foster''' (June 12, 1904 – September 16, 1978) was an American left-handed [[pitcher]] in [[baseball]]'s [[Negro league baseball|Negro leagues]] in the 1920s and 1930s, and had a career record of 143–69.<ref>Hogan 2006, pp. 404–05.</ref> He was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of [[Rube Foster]], a Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer.
'''William Hendrick Foster'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=foste01bil|title=Willie Foster - Seamheads Negro Leagues Database|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2021-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301041018/https://seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=foste01bil|url-status=live}}</ref> (June 12, 1904 – September 16, 1978) was an American left-handed [[pitcher]] in [[baseball]]'s [[Negro league baseball|Negro leagues]] in the 1920s and 1930s. He was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of [[Rube Foster]], a Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer.


==Early life==
== Early life ==
Foster was born in 1904 in [[Calvert, Texas]]. He had the same father as [[Rube Foster]], who was a Negro league player, manager and owner. Rube Foster was a key figure in the founding of the [[Negro National League (1920–31)|Negro National League]].<ref name=Whirty/> Bill Foster's mother died when he was four years old, so he was raised by his grandparents in [[Rodney, Mississippi]].<ref name=MSHOF/> He did not meet his older half-brother until he was a teenager.<ref name=Heaphy>{{cite book|editor1-last=Heaphy|editor1-first=Leslie|title=Black Baseball and Chicago: Essays on the Players, Teams and Games of the Negro Leagues' Most Important City|year=2006|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786426748|page=74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jH043iKJlF8C&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74|access-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref>
Foster was born in 1904 in [[Calvert, Texas]]. He had the same father as [[Rube Foster]], who was a Negro league player, manager and owner. Rube Foster was a key figure in the founding of the [[Negro National League (1920–31)|Negro National League]].<ref name=Whirty/> Bill Foster's mother died when he was four years old, so he was raised by his grandparents in [[Rodney, Mississippi]].<ref name=MSHOF/> He did not meet his older half-brother until he was a teenager.<ref name=Heaphy>{{cite book|editor1-last=Heaphy|editor1-first=Leslie|title=Black Baseball and Chicago: Essays on the Players, Teams and Games of the Negro Leagues' Most Important City|year=2006|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786426748|page=74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jH043iKJlF8C&pg=PA74|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607122025/https://books.google.com/books?id=jH043iKJlF8C&pg=PA74#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Professional career==
== Professional career ==
Foster played for the [[Memphis Red Sox]] in 1923 and 1924, the [[Chicago American Giants]] from 1925 to 1930—and again from 1932 to 1935 and in 1937—the [[Homestead Grays]] and [[Kansas City Monarchs]] in 1931, and the [[Pittsburgh Crawfords]] in 1936.
Foster played for the [[Memphis Red Sox]] in 1923 and 1924, the [[Chicago American Giants]] from 1925 to 1930—and again from 1932 to 1935 and in 1937—the [[Homestead Grays]] and [[Kansas City Monarchs]] in 1931, and the [[Pittsburgh Crawfords]] in 1936.


Foster played for Chicago American Giants teams that won the [[Negro National League (1920–31)|Negro National League]] pennant and the [[Negro League World Series]] championship in 1926 and 1927, the [[Negro Southern League (1920–36)|Negro Southern League]] pennant in 1932, and the [[Negro National League (1933–48)|Negro National League]] pennant in 1933.<ref>Clark and Lester 1994, pp. 164–65.</ref> He was the player-manager of the team in 1930.<ref>Riley 1994, p. 293.</ref>
Foster played for Chicago American Giants teams that won the [[Negro National League (1920–31)|Negro National League]] pennant and the [[Negro League World Series]] championship in 1926 and 1927, the [[Negro Southern League (1920–36)|Negro Southern League]] pennant in 1932, and the [[Negro National League (1933–48)|Negro National League]] pennant in 1933.<ref>Clark and Lester 1994, pp. 164–65.</ref> He was the player-manager of the team in 1930.<ref>Riley 1994, p. 293.</ref>


In 1926, Foster won 23 games in a row and 26 overall, but his most amazing performance came the last day of the playoffs to determine the Negro National League title. Needing to win both games of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Monarchs, Foster hurled [[complete game]] [[shutout]]s in both games of a [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] against [[Bullet Joe Rogan]] and the Monarchs, 1–0 and 5–0, to put the Giants in the World Series.<ref>[http://negro-baseball-league.com/blog/big-bill-foster-negro-leagues-player.html Big Bill Foster – Negro Leagues Player] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923211401/http://negro-baseball-league.com/blog/big-bill-foster-negro-leagues-player.html |date=2009-09-23 }}</ref><ref>[http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/bill-foster-hof.htm Bill Foster, by the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.]</ref>
In 1926, Foster won 23 games in a row and 26 overall, but his most amazing performance came the last day of the playoffs to determine the Negro National League title. Needing to win both games of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Monarchs, Foster hurled [[complete game]] [[shutout]]s in both games of a [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] against [[Bullet Joe Rogan]] and the Monarchs, 1–0 and 5–0, to put the Giants in the World Series.<ref>[http://negro-baseball-league.com/blog/big-bill-foster-negro-leagues-player.html Big Bill Foster – Negro Leagues Player] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923211401/http://negro-baseball-league.com/blog/big-bill-foster-negro-leagues-player.html |date=2009-09-23 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/bill-foster-hof.htm |title=Bill Foster, by the Editors of Publications International, Ltd. |access-date=2010-03-21 |archive-date=2007-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014192304/http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/bill-foster-hof.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Foster was the starting pitcher in Game 7 and Game 11 for the Giants, and he won both of his starts while facing [[Hubert Lockhart]]. In the former, he allowed four runs on eight hits in nine innings of work, while in the latter he threw a complete-game shutout despite allowing ten hits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/NgLg/B10090CAG1926.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago American Giants (CAG) 5, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (ACY) 4|access-date=2021-06-20|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201330/https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/NgLg/B10090CAG1926.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/NgLg/B10140CAG1926.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago American Giants (CAG) 1, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (ACY) 0|access-date=2021-06-20|archive-date=2021-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202425/https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/NgLg/B10140CAG1926.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>


In 1931 Foster, as a pitcher for the Homestead Grays, recorded a 10–2 record against rival African-American teams.<ref>Dixon 2009.</ref> His record against rival African-American teams increases to 11–3, if you count the games that were won and lost in Alcorn, Mississippi, when [[Syd Pollock]]'s Cubans [[House of David (commune)|House of David]]s visited [[Alcorn State University|Alcorn College]] prior to Foster joining the Grays. Foster finished the 1931 campaign with [[J. L. Wilkinson]]'s Kansas City Monarchs where on October 4, 1931 he blew his fastball past a major league all-star team composed of such legendary men as [[Babe Herman]], [[Joe Kuhel]] and both Waner brothers, [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]] and [[Paul Waner|Paul]]. In the game played at Kansas City's [[Muehlebach Field]], Foster captured a 4–3 win. During the 1931 season, Foster struck out ten men in a game on nine occasions and posted a seasonal high of 16 strikeouts in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, on August 6. He also recorded four shutouts. Foster finished 1931 with a 23–5 record.
In 1931 Foster, as a pitcher for the Homestead Grays, recorded a 10–2 record against rival African-American teams.<ref>Dixon 2009.</ref> His record against rival African-American teams increases to 11–3, if you count the games that were won and lost in Alcorn, Mississippi, when [[Syd Pollock]]'s Cubans [[House of David (commune)|House of David]]s visited [[Alcorn State University|Alcorn College]] prior to Foster joining the Grays. Foster finished the 1931 campaign with [[J. L. Wilkinson]]'s Kansas City Monarchs where on October 4, 1931 he blew his fastball past a major league all-star team composed of such legendary men as [[Babe Herman]], [[Joe Kuhel]] and both Waner brothers, [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]] and [[Paul Waner|Paul]]. In the game played at Kansas City's [[Muehlebach Field]], Foster captured a 4–3 win. During the 1931 season, Foster struck out ten men in a game on nine occasions and posted a seasonal high of 16 strikeouts in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, on August 6. He also recorded four shutouts. Foster finished 1931 with a 23–5 record.
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Foster's pitch selection included a [[fastball]], overhand [[curveball|curve]], [[Slider (baseball)|slider]], sidearm [[curveball|curve]], and a [[changeup]].<ref>James and Neyer 2004, p. 208.</ref>
Foster's pitch selection included a [[fastball]], overhand [[curveball|curve]], [[Slider (baseball)|slider]], sidearm [[curveball|curve]], and a [[changeup]].<ref>James and Neyer 2004, p. 208.</ref>


Baseball people often characterized Foster as one of the game's great players. Umpire [[Jocko Conlan]] said Foster had "the same perfect delivery of Herb Pennock, but was faster by far, with a sharp curve, and had what all great pitchers have – control." [[Charlie Gehringer]] once told Foster, "If I could paint you white I could get $150,000 for you right now." Negro league player and manager [[Dave Malarcher]] favorably compared him to Negro league legend [[Satchel Paige]], saying, "Bill Foster was my star pitcher, the greatest pitcher of our time, not even barring Satchel."<ref name=Hall>{{cite book|title=The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats: In Stories and Images, the Complete Roster of Inductees|year=2014|publisher=[[Baseball Hall of Fame]]|isbn=0316213039|page=257|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeriAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT257&lpg=PT257|access-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref>
Baseball people often characterized Foster as one of the game's great players. Umpire [[Jocko Conlan]] said Foster had "the same perfect delivery of Herb Pennock, but was faster by far, with a sharp curve, and had what all great pitchers have – control." [[Charlie Gehringer]] once told Foster, "If I could paint you white I could get $150,000 for you right now." Negro league player and manager [[Dave Malarcher]] favorably compared him to Negro league legend [[Satchel Paige]], saying, "Bill Foster was my star pitcher, the greatest pitcher of our time, not even barring Satchel."<ref name=Hall>{{cite book|title=The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats: In Stories and Images, the Complete Roster of Inductees|year=2014|publisher=[[Baseball Hall of Fame]]|isbn=978-0316213035|page=257|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeriAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT257|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607122036/https://books.google.com/books?id=oeriAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT257#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Later life==
== Later life ==
After retiring from professional baseball in 1936, Foster moved to [[Tarboro, North Carolina]], where his childhood sweetheart Thelma Quigless lived. He also played semiprofessional baseball in 1940 in nearby [[Princeville, North Carolina|Princeville]]. Foster and Quigless were married in 1941. Foster took a job in insurance policy sales with the [[North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company]]. He later divorced Quigless.<ref name=Whirty>{{cite web|last1=Whirty|first1=Ryan|title=Baseball bonds Princeville, Hall of Fame pitcher Bill Foster|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/24/3224867/baseball-bonds-princeville-hall.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150103045315/http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/24/3224867/baseball-bonds-princeville-hall.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2015|publisher=[[The News & Observer]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>
After retiring from professional baseball in 1936, Foster moved to [[Tarboro, North Carolina]], where his childhood sweetheart Thelma Quigless lived. He also played semiprofessional baseball in 1940 in nearby [[Princeville, North Carolina|Princeville]]. Foster and Quigless were married in 1941. Foster took a job in insurance policy sales with the [[North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company]]. He later divorced Quigless.<ref name=Whirty>{{cite web|last1=Whirty|first1=Ryan|title=Baseball bonds Princeville, Hall of Fame pitcher Bill Foster|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/24/3224867/baseball-bonds-princeville-hall.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150103045315/http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/24/3224867/baseball-bonds-princeville-hall.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2015|publisher=[[The News & Observer]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>


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Foster was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1996. He was elected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame the next year.<ref name=SWAC>{{cite web|title=Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame classes|url=http://www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205246235|publisher=[[Southwestern Athletic Conference]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234357/http://www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205246235|archive-date=November 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, he was voted in to the [[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref name=MSHOF>{{cite web|title=Bill Foster|url=http://msfame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bill-foster/|publisher=[[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103042936/http://msfame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bill-foster/|archive-date=January 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Foster was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1996. He was elected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame the next year.<ref name=SWAC>{{cite web|title=Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame classes|url=http://www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205246235|publisher=[[Southwestern Athletic Conference]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234357/http://www.swac.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205246235|archive-date=November 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, he was voted in to the [[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref name=MSHOF>{{cite web|title=Bill Foster|url=http://msfame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bill-foster/|publisher=[[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]]|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103042936/http://msfame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bill-foster/|archive-date=January 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==Notes==
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==References==
== Bibliography ==
*{{Citation | last=Clark | first=Dick | last2=Lester | first2=Larry | title=The Negro Leagues Book | place=Cleveland, Ohio | publisher=Society for American Baseball Research | year=1994 }}
* {{Citation | last1=Clark | first1=Dick | last2=Lester | first2=Larry | title=The Negro Leagues Book | place=Cleveland, Ohio | publisher=Society for American Baseball Research | year=1994 }}
*{{Cite book | last=Dixon | first=Phil | title=Phil Dixon's American Baseball Chronicles, Great Teams, The 1931 Homestead Grays Volume I | publisher=Xlibris | year=2009 | isbn=1-4415-7471-9}}{{Self-published inline|date=January 2018}}
* {{Cite book | last=Dixon | first=Phil | title=Phil Dixon's American Baseball Chronicles, Great Teams, The 1931 Homestead Grays Volume I | publisher=Xlibris | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4415-7471-8}}{{Self-published inline|date=January 2018}}
*{{Citation | last=Hogan | first=Lawrence D. | year=2006 | title=Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball | place=Washington, D.C. | publisher=National Geographic | isbn=0-7922-5306-X | url=https://archive.org/details/shadesofgloryneg00hoga }}
* {{Citation | last=Hogan | first=Lawrence D. | year=2006 | title=Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball | place=Washington, D.C. | publisher=National Geographic | isbn=0-7922-5306-X | url=https://archive.org/details/shadesofgloryneg00hoga }}
*{{Citation | last=James | first=Bill | author-link=Bill James | last2=Neyer | first2=Rob | author2-link=Rob Neyer | title=The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers | place=New York | publisher=Simon & Schuster | year=2004 | isbn=0-7432-6158-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/neyerjamesguidet00jame }}
* {{Citation | last1=James | first1=Bill | author-link=Bill James | last2=Neyer | first2=Rob | author2-link=Rob Neyer | title=The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers | place=New York | publisher=Simon & Schuster | year=2004 | isbn=0-7432-6158-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/neyerjamesguidet00jame }}
*{{Citation | last=Riley | first=James A. | title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues | place=New York | publisher=Carroll & Graf | year=1994 | isbn=0-7867-0959-6 }}
* {{Citation | last=Riley | first=James A. | title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues | place=New York | publisher=Carroll & Graf | year=1994 | isbn=0-7867-0959-6 }}


==External links==
== External links ==
*{{Bbhof|foster-bill}}
* {{Bbhof|foster-bill}}
* {{Baseballstats|mlb=819488|br=f/fostebi99}} and [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=foster002bil Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats] and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=foste01bil Seamheads]
{{Negro-league-stats |seam=921 |brn=foster002bil}}
* {{Find a Grave|19922}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040625034745/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/F/Foster_Bill.stm Baseball Library.com]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=184850&GRid=19922& Find a Grave Bio]


{{Chicago American Giants}}
{{1996 Baseball HOF}}
{{1996 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
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[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]

Latest revision as of 03:47, 6 November 2024

"Willie Foster" redirects here. For the musician, see Little Willy Foster. For the football player, see Willie Foster (gridiron football).
Bill Foster
Pitcher
Born: (1904-06-12)June 12, 1904
Calvert, Texas, U.S.
Died: September 16, 1978(1978-09-16) (aged 74)
Lorman, Mississippi, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Left
Negro leagues debut
1923, for the Memphis Red Sox
Last Negro leagues appearance
1937, for the Chicago American Giants
Negro leagues[a] statistics
Win–loss record110–56
Earned run average2.68
Strikeouts922
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1996
Election methodVeterans Committee

William Hendrick Foster[2] (June 12, 1904 – September 16, 1978) was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of Rube Foster, a Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer.

Early life

[edit]

Foster was born in 1904 in Calvert, Texas. He had the same father as Rube Foster, who was a Negro league player, manager and owner. Rube Foster was a key figure in the founding of the Negro National League.[3] Bill Foster's mother died when he was four years old, so he was raised by his grandparents in Rodney, Mississippi.[4] He did not meet his older half-brother until he was a teenager.[5]

Professional career

[edit]

Foster played for the Memphis Red Sox in 1923 and 1924, the Chicago American Giants from 1925 to 1930—and again from 1932 to 1935 and in 1937—the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs in 1931, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1936.

Foster played for Chicago American Giants teams that won the Negro National League pennant and the Negro League World Series championship in 1926 and 1927, the Negro Southern League pennant in 1932, and the Negro National League pennant in 1933.[6] He was the player-manager of the team in 1930.[7]

In 1926, Foster won 23 games in a row and 26 overall, but his most amazing performance came the last day of the playoffs to determine the Negro National League title. Needing to win both games of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Monarchs, Foster hurled complete game shutouts in both games of a doubleheader against Bullet Joe Rogan and the Monarchs, 1–0 and 5–0, to put the Giants in the World Series.[8][9] Foster was the starting pitcher in Game 7 and Game 11 for the Giants, and he won both of his starts while facing Hubert Lockhart. In the former, he allowed four runs on eight hits in nine innings of work, while in the latter he threw a complete-game shutout despite allowing ten hits.[10][11]

In 1931 Foster, as a pitcher for the Homestead Grays, recorded a 10–2 record against rival African-American teams.[12] His record against rival African-American teams increases to 11–3, if you count the games that were won and lost in Alcorn, Mississippi, when Syd Pollock's Cubans House of Davids visited Alcorn College prior to Foster joining the Grays. Foster finished the 1931 campaign with J. L. Wilkinson's Kansas City Monarchs where on October 4, 1931 he blew his fastball past a major league all-star team composed of such legendary men as Babe Herman, Joe Kuhel and both Waner brothers, Lloyd and Paul. In the game played at Kansas City's Muehlebach Field, Foster captured a 4–3 win. During the 1931 season, Foster struck out ten men in a game on nine occasions and posted a seasonal high of 16 strikeouts in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, on August 6. He also recorded four shutouts. Foster finished 1931 with a 23–5 record.

He was the top vote getter and the winning pitcher in the first East-West All-Star Game in 1933, and was on the All-Star team again in 1934.

Foster's pitch selection included a fastball, overhand curve, slider, sidearm curve, and a changeup.[13]

Baseball people often characterized Foster as one of the game's great players. Umpire Jocko Conlan said Foster had "the same perfect delivery of Herb Pennock, but was faster by far, with a sharp curve, and had what all great pitchers have – control." Charlie Gehringer once told Foster, "If I could paint you white I could get $150,000 for you right now." Negro league player and manager Dave Malarcher favorably compared him to Negro league legend Satchel Paige, saying, "Bill Foster was my star pitcher, the greatest pitcher of our time, not even barring Satchel."[14]

Later life

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After retiring from professional baseball in 1936, Foster moved to Tarboro, North Carolina, where his childhood sweetheart Thelma Quigless lived. He also played semiprofessional baseball in 1940 in nearby Princeville. Foster and Quigless were married in 1941. Foster took a job in insurance policy sales with the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. He later divorced Quigless.[3]

Foster married again and returned to Mississippi. From 1960 to 1977, Foster was a dean and the baseball coach at his alma mater, Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1978, Foster died in Lorman, Mississippi.[3]

Legacy

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The Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium in Lorman, the home field for Alcorn State baseball, is named for him.[15]

Foster was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. He was elected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame the next year.[16] In 2003, he was voted in to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball declared the Negro leagues, from the span of 1920–1948, to be a "Major League".[1] Foster's statistics reflect his time in the Negro leagues from 1923–1930 and from 1932 until the end of his career.

References

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  1. ^ "MLB officially designates the Negro Leagues as 'Major League'". MLB.com. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Willie Foster - Seamheads Negro Leagues Database". Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  3. ^ a b c Whirty, Ryan (September 24, 2013). "Baseball bonds Princeville, Hall of Fame pitcher Bill Foster". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Bill Foster". Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  5. ^ Heaphy, Leslie, ed. (2006). Black Baseball and Chicago: Essays on the Players, Teams and Games of the Negro Leagues' Most Important City. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 0786426748. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Clark and Lester 1994, pp. 164–65.
  7. ^ Riley 1994, p. 293.
  8. ^ Big Bill Foster – Negro Leagues Player Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Bill Foster, by the Editors of Publications International, Ltd". Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  10. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago American Giants (CAG) 5, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (ACY) 4". Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  11. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago American Giants (CAG) 1, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (ACY) 0". Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  12. ^ Dixon 2009.
  13. ^ James and Neyer 2004, p. 208.
  14. ^ The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats: In Stories and Images, the Complete Roster of Inductees. Baseball Hall of Fame. 2014. p. 257. ISBN 978-0316213035. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Alcorn State University holds plaque unveiling ceremony in honor of the McGowan Stadium/Fisher Field on May 6". Alcorn.edu. Alcorn State University. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  16. ^ "Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame classes". Southwestern Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

Bibliography

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