Billy Hamilton (1961)


Date of Birth: 2/16/1866
Date of Death: 12/16/1940
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey

Billy Hamilton first played professional baseball in 1887 in the minors with a team in the Eastern League. The following year, he played with the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. He played in just 35 games in 1888, and he batted .264. In 1889, he led the league in stolen bases with a career high 111. He had 161 hits, 17 doubles, 12 triples, 41 strikeouts to 87 walks, and a .301 batting average in 137 games.

Philadelphia Phillies

At the end of the 1889 season, when the Kansas City team folded, Hamilton's contract was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies. In his first season with the Phillies, he led the NL in stolen bases with 102. He finished the 1890 season with 161 hits, 13 doubles, 37 strikeouts to 83 walks, and a .325 batting average in 123 games.

Hamilton led the NL in batting average, hits, stolen bases, walks, and on-base percentage in 1891. He had 179 hits, 23 doubles, a career high 111 stolen bases, and a .340 batting average in 133 games. He walked 102 times while striking out just 28 times. His on-base percentage was .453.

Hamilton played in a career high 139 games in 1892. He had 183 hits, 21 doubles, 57 stolen bases, 29 strikeouts to 81 walks, and a .330 batting average. The following season, he led the NL in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. In 1893, he batted .380 with 135 hits, 22 doubles, and 43 stolen bases in 82 games. His on-base percentage was .490 and his OPS was 1.014.

In 1894, Hamilton again led the NL in stolen bases, walks, and on-base percentage. He had career highs in hits (220), doubles (25), triples (15), walks (126 to 17 strikeouts), batting average (.404), and on-base percentage (.523). He stole 98 bases in 129 games.

Hamilton had another strong season in 1895, when he batted .389 in 123 games. He finished the season with 201 hits, 22 doubles, 97 stolen bases, and 30 strikeouts to 96 walks. He led the NL in stolen bases and in walks that season.

Boston Beaneaters/Braves

In 1896, Hamilton moved to the Boston Beaneaters. That year, he led the NL again in walks with 110 (to just 29 strikeouts) and in on-base percentage with .477. He had 191 hits, 24 doubles, 83 stolen bases, and a .365 batting average in 131 games. The following season, he led the NL again in walks. He had 105 walks and no strikeouts, quite an amazing feat even back in 1897.

Hamilton led the NL in on-base percentage and in OPS in 1898. He batted .480 with an on-base percentage also of .480 and an OPS of .933. He had 154 hits, 16 doubles, and 54 stolen bases in 110 games.

Hamilton played in just 84 games in 1899, and he batted .310 with 92 hits. The following season, he batted .333 in 136 games. He finished the 1900 season with 173 hits and 20 doubles. In 1901, his last season in the major leagues, he batted .287 with 100 hits in 102 games.

MLB Records

  • Led NL in batting average (2 times)
  • Led NL in on-base percentage (5 times)
  • Led NL in OPS (2 times)
  • Led NL in stolen bases (4 times)
  • Led NL in walks (5 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Hamilton in 13 seasons (1889-1901) in the major leagues include:

  • 10 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 220 in 1894
  • 9 seasons with over 50 stolen bases, with a high of 111 in 1889 and 1891
  • 12 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .404 in 1894

Career batting statistics for Hamilton include:

  • 1,591 games played
  • 2,158 hits
  • 242 doubles
  • 912 stolen bases
  • 218 strikeouts to 1,187 walks
  • .344 batting average
  • .455 on-base percentage
  • .887 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Hamilton as an outfielder include:

  • 1,587 games played
  • 3,453 putouts
  • 289 errors
  • .926 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

From 1902 through 1910, Hamilton played in the minors, both with the New England League and with the Tri-State League.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Billy Hamilton
ESPN - Billy Hamilton
Baseball Reference - Billy Hamilton

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