December 30, 1898: Bill Stearns, Baseball's 1st Casualty of War

December 30, 1898: For the 1st time, a man who had played professional baseball dies as a result of serving his country.

William Stearns (no middle name) was born on March 20, 1853 in Washington, D.C. Although he was only 12 years old when the American Civil War ended, he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization that grew out of that war, which indicates he served in some capacity during the war, perhaps as a drummer, a bugler, or a messenger.

In 1871, the 1st season of the National Association, baseball's 1st professional league, he pitched 2 games for the Washington Olympics, completing and winning both. He was just 18 years old, and it seemed like he had a good career in front of him.

If you're a believer in foreshadowing, you may have guessed that he was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn just 5 years later. But the date at the start of this post rules that out.

The Olympics had begun play in 1867, and it was their defeat of a team from Cincinnati that inspired businessmen from that city to form the sport's 1st openly professional team, the Red Stockings, in 1869. But the Washington Nationals were an even older team, going back to 1860. Stearns pitched for them in 1872, but went 0-11. I guess the NA batters had figured him out. He went 7-25 for them in 1873 and, bowing to the fact that their move to the professional ranks had exposed them as inadequate, the Nationals dropped out of the NA. 

Stearns went 3-14, albeit with a decent 2.95 ERA, for a a terrible Hartford Dark Blues team in 1874. A new Washington Nationals team was even worse in 1875, and Stearns went 1-14 for them. In 1874, he became an outfielder as well as a pitcher, but didn't hit well: He batted .159 with 11 RBIs in 33 games in 1874, and .256 with 7 RBIs in 21 games in 1875.

After the 1875 season, the NA collapsed, and, rather than join the new National League for 1876, the Nationals disbanded. There would be more professional teams in Washington, but the "Washington Nationals" name remained dormant until 1973, when it was rumored (incorrectly, as it turned out) that the San Diego Padres were going to move to D.C. for the 1974 season; and then again until 2004, when the Montreal Expos moved to the capital.

Stearns became an umpire, and remained in baseball that way. In 1898, with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Stearns volunteered for military service. Despite being 45 years old, he was accepted. He was a Private with the First District of Columbia Volunteers, and deployed to Puerto Rico in July. While there, he contracted malaria. He returned to his hometown in September, but he never recovered, and died there on December 30.

No Washington team -- not the "Old Senators" of 1901 to 1960, who became the Minnesota Twins; the "New Senators" of 1961 to 1971, who became the Texas Rangers; or the Nationals -- has ever made any mention of hometown hero Bill Stearns at their ballpark. He may not have died in combat, but he did die in service to his country, and he should be remembered.

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December 30, 1898 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Football season had ended. Basketball barely existed. And hockey was all-amateur. So there were no scores on this historic day.