Sport: Baseball
Born: April 8, 1857
Died: July 14, 1891
Town: Gloucester, New Jersey
William Michael Crowley was born April 8, 1857 in Philadelphia and grew up across the river in Gloucester, NJ, with his three siblings. Sinewy-strong with a powerful right arm, Bill was regarded as one of the best all-around players in South Jersey while doing factory and mill work as a teenager. His outfield throws were compared to those of John Hatfield, a star of Newark baseball some 10 years Bill’s senior. At this time, professional ball was beginning to gain a commercial foothold with the advent of the National Association and teams were on the lookout for emerging talent. Bill didn’t have to go far to find a suitor; the Philadelphia White Stockings signed him in 1875 and he served as a light-hitting utility player at the age of 18.
Bill did not play well enough to catch on with a new team when the National League formed in 1876 but, one year later, he was a regular with the Louisville Grays and batted .282 and performed well in the outfield. That earned him a job with Buffalo of the International Association and, in 1879, the Bisons joined the NL. Bill became one of the game’s best outfielders and showed off his arm with 23 outfield assists that first season. The ballparks of this era were very large and a player who could keep opponents from taking liberties on the basepaths was highly valued. During his final season with Buffalo, Bill struck up a friendship with fellow New Jerseyan Hardy Richardson, who played beside him in the outfield.
Bill joined the Boston Red Stockings in 1880 and played two forgettable seasons, which included a suspension that ended up keeping him out of baseball for the entirety of 1882. In 1883, he joined the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, but his play continued to decline and his arm began to betray him. Although the A’s won the pennant, Bill was demoted to the bench and was released in the final weeks of the campaign.
Bill enjoyed a brief resurgence when he rejoined Boston in 1884, playing well during a tight pennant race. He returned to Buffalo for the 1885 season and had a poor year at the plate in what would be his final big-league season. Bill kicked around the minors for several more years, earning a reputation for unruly behavior and drunkenness. He played his final season in 1888 and returned to his hometown that fall—occasionally playing for and managing local ball teams in the years that followed.
Unfortunately, there weren’t too many of those years left for Bill. His drinking led to kidney disease and he died during the summer of 1891 at the age of 34.