Bill Salkeld

Catcher, Baseball Player

1917 – 1967

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Who was Bill Salkeld?

William Franklin Salkeld was an American professional baseball player, a catcher in the Major Leagues from 1945–1950 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves, and Chicago White Sox. A native of Pocatello, Idaho, who grew up in Sacramento, California, Salkeld batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 190 pounds.

Salkeld's professional career was almost ended at the age of 19 by a serious knee injury that caused him to miss 2½ seasons. He was able to return to baseball as the 22-year-old playing manager of the 1939 Tucson Cowboys of the Class D Arizona-Texas League. He then spent 1940–1944 in the top-level Pacific Coast League before his Major League debut, at age 28, with the 1945 Pirates during the final year of the World War II manpower shortage. As a rookie, Salkeld batted .311 with 15 home runs in only 317 plate appearances and finished 24th in the National League Most Valuable Player voting. Although his productivity declined during the postwar period as ex-Major Leaguers returned to the game from military service, Salkeld kept his Major League foothold for most of the next four seasons.

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Born
Mar 8, 1917
Pocatello
Profession
Lived in
  • Pocatello
Died
Apr 22, 1967
Los Angeles

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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