Bill Serena

From BR Bullpen

William Robert Serena

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 5' 9½", *Weight 175 lb.
High School Alameda High School

Debut September 16, 1949
Final Game August 7, 1954
Born October 2, 1924 in Alameda, CA USA
Died April 17, 1996 in Hayward, CA USA

1 Biographical Information
2 Notable Achievements
3 Further Reading
4 Sources
5 Related Sites

[edit] Biographical Information

Bill Serena was an infielder, principally a third baseman, 13 years (1945-1957), two in semipro/independent ball (1945-1946); six in the Majors (1949-1954), and seven in the minors (1946-1949;1955-1957), losing most of one year to injury. The son of a carpenter who had emigrated from Italy, he graduated from Alameda High School in 1942 at age 17 and early in 1943 entered the U.S. Army, served overseas for World War II and was discharged in 1945 in time to play in the Alameda Winter League.

Signed by scout Bernie DeViveiros of the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1945, he broke into Organized Baseball in 1946 at age 21. In 1946 he played for Montgomery in the Class B Southeastern League and in 1947 he was with the Lubbock Hubbers in the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League. Playing shortstop, he hit 70 home runs, 57 in the regular season and 13 in the playoffs in 152 games and had over 200 RBI. In the regular season, he had 189 hits, 183 runs, 43 doubles, 9 triples, 57 home runs, 190 RBI and 1 stolen base at [.374/.514/.832].

In 1948, he played for the Dallas Eagles in the Texas League and the Buffalo Bisons of the International League. He was declared a free agent by commissioner A. B. Chandler on October 27, 1948 and signed by Dallas on January 14, (BR). Playing for Dallas in 1949, he had 138 hits, 102 runs, 28 doubles, 4 triples, 28 homeruns, 110 RBI and 8 stolen bases at [.281/.448/.525]. On August 10, 1949 he was purchased by the Chicago Cubs from Dallas.

Serena was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 16, 1949, with the Cubs. He married Betty Neill on November 11, 1949. He played for Chicago (1949-1954). While Chicago was in the field, Umpire Frank Dascoli banished the entire bench of Cubs players (11 of them) to the Polo Grounds bathhouse in their May 1, 1951 game against the New York Giants. They were calling Dascoli the name "Rabbit Ears." Later, two of the ejected players, Serena and Smoky Burgess, were recalled for pinch hitting duties.

On May 6, 1951 he fractured his left wrist sliding into second base in the first inning, but stayed in the game getting two more hits with two runs and an RBI. That was his last game of the year. With victory in sight on June 14, 1952, Warren Spahn of the Boston Braves, in the process of an 18-strikeout game, finally yielded, allowing a game-tying home run in the ninth to Serena.

He recovered from his wrist injury to post his best year in 1952 when he hit .274-15-61 in 122 games. He played his final MLB game on August 7, 1954 at age 29. On September 30, 1954 he was purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Cubs. He returned to the minors with the Oakland Oaks and San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League (1955) and the Buffalo Bisons of the International League (1956-1957); ending his baseball playing career at age 32.

He then turned to scouting and worked for 38 years as a scout for the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins, spending 25 years with the Braves, retiring in 1994 and ending his baseball career at age 70. He discovered and /or signed players such as Jack Pierce, Junior Moore, Frank LaCorte, Eddie Miller, Bob Porter, Chuck Cary, Jeff Blauser and Jason Schmidt.

In 1952, his best year in MLB, he had 107 hits, 49 runs, 21 doubles, 5 triples, 15 home runs, 61 RBI and 1 stolen base at (.274/.345/.469) in 122 games. Overall in MLB, he had 311 hits, 154 runs, 57 doubles, 16 triples, 48 home runs, 198 RBI and 2 stolen bases at (.251/.348/.439) in 408 games. Overall in the minors, he had 182 home runs and 639 RBI.

He had black hair and hazel eyes, his ancestry was Italian and his principal hobbies were fishing and hunting. He died at age 71 at his home from lung cancer in Hayward CA on April 17, 1996 and was cremated.

[edit] Notable Achievements

Led West Texas-New Mexico League in home runs (57), RBI (190) and runs (183), 1947
Led Texas Legue third baseman in putouts (177), assists (423) and fielding average (.945), 1949