Billy Earle
From BR Bullpen
William Moffat Earle (The Little Globetrotter)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10½", Weight 170 lb.
- Debut April 27, 1889
- Final Game September 6, 1894
- Born November 10, 1867 in Philadelphia, PA USA
- Died May 30, 1946 in Omaha, NE USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Billy Earle was a good-hitting catcher (at least in the majors) but is most remembered as an unusual fellow who studied hypnotism and was believed to have the "evil eye". Although some sources say he was forced out of baseball because of his "hypnotic powers", his minor league career started around 1886 and he was still playing as a player-manager in 1906. He managed eight seasons in the minors. He also coached at Princeton University.
He managed the 1901 Almendares Blues, becoming the first American manager in the history of the Cuban Winter League. It would be 46 years until the next American pilot, Lefty Gomez. Source: Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo. The Sporting Life of February 20, 1904 reported he was in Cuba then as well.
The SABR biography of Kid Elberfeld indicates that Kid and Billy played together on an independent team in 1895 that was partly owned by Billy.
The St. Paul Globe of July 27, 1896 referred to him as "one of Anson's famous globe trotters".
