Bill Steinecke

Who was Bill Steinecke?

William Robert Steinecke was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, who attended DePaul University, Steinecke spent almost 40 years in uniform, but only four games in Major League Baseball. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 ft 8 in tall and weighed 175 pounds as an active player.

Steinecke's playing career began in 1925 with the Rock Island Islanders of the Class D Mississippi Valley League. After batting .361 for the Binghamton Triplets of the Class B New York-Pennsylvania League — and being elected the loop's all-star catcher for 1931 — Steinecke received his Pittsburgh trial. In four games and four at bats between September 16 and September 24, 1931, he went hitless. By the opening of the 1932 season, he was back at Binghamton. Steinecke achieved his most sustained success in the New York-Penn League of the 1930s, batting over .300 in six different seasons. In his best campaign, 1936 for the Williamsport Grays, Steinecke batted .349 with 110 runs batted in in 132 games played. All told, he appeared in 1,907 minor league games over 21 different seasons, batting .297 with 57 home runs and 855 RBI.