Bill Greason
William Henry Greason (born September 3, 1924) is an American former professional baseball player who later became a Baptist minister.[1] He was born in Atlanta. Greason enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and did his basic training at Montford Point. He embarked with the 66th Supply Platoon, an all-black unit, in the Pacific Theater of Operations and took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima.[2]
| Bill Greason | |||||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg.webp) Greason at Rickwood Field in 2006 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: September 3, 1924 Atlanta, Georgia | |||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||||
| NgL: 1948, for the Birmingham Black Barons | |||||||||||||||||
| MLB: May 31, 1954, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||
| June 20, 1954, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 13.50 | ||||||||||||||||
| Innings pitched | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Negro league career
Greason was a 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 170 lb (77 kg) right-handed pitcher. After the war, he played professional baseball in the Negro leagues for the minor league Nashville Black Vols and Asheville Blues, and the major league Birmingham Black Barons,[1] where he was a teammate of Willie Mays.[2] In 1952, Greason joined minor league baseball as a member of the Oklahoma City Indians of the Double-A Texas League, where he won nine of his ten decisions and posted a 2.14 earned run average.[3] Another successful year at Oklahoma City in 1953 led to his acquisition by the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, where he would become the team's second African-American player, after Tom Alston.[2]
Major League career
Greason appeared in three games for the 1954 Cardinals, two as a starting pitcher. In his May 31 debut, he took the loss after allowing five earned runs and five hits over three innings in a rain-shortened game against the Chicago Cubs. In Greason's next start, he failed to record an out against the Philadelphia Phillies and allowed one earned run. In his final MLB game, he pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the New York Giants.[4] Altogether, Greason allowed eight hits and six earned runs in four MLB innings pitched, with four bases on balls and two strikeouts. He spent the remainder of his professional baseball career in the upper levels of the minor leagues in the Cardinal farm system, retiring after the 1959 campaign.
Ministry and later life
After his playing days, Greason studied for the ministry at Birmingham Baptist Bible College and Samford University. He became a member of the 16th Street Baptist Church and a pastor of Bethel Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama.[5]
In 2011 Greason was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the annual Alabama Black Achievement Awards Gala.[6] In 2012, the Montford Point Marines, including Greason, were awarded a group Congressional Gold Medal.[7]
References
- Negro League Baseball Players Association Archived September 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Powell, Larry, The Black Barons of Birmingham. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2009, pp. 172-180
- Minor league statistics from Baseball Reference
- 1954 pitching log from Retrosheet
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- Birmingham Times online Archived March 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Vergun, David. "Sports Heroes Who Served: Montford Point Marine Went From Iwo Jima to Major Leagues". US Department of Defense. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors) and Seamheads