Bill Craver
| Bill Craver | |||
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Craver in 1866
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| Middle infielder / Catcher | |||
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Born: June 1844 Troy, New York, United States |
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Died: June 17, 1901 (aged 56–57) Troy, New York |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 9, 1871, for the Troy Haymakers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 6, 1877, for the Louisville Grays | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .290 | ||
| Home runs | 2 | ||
| Runs batted in | 228 | ||
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William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven different teams, in two leagues. He was later expelled from the Major Leagues in the infamous Louisville gambling scandal in 1877.
Before his baseball career, Craver had served in the military during the Civil War with the 13th Heavy Artillery Regiment out of New York. He enlisted on January 21, 1864, as a Private in Company K, and mustered out on June 28 in Norfolk, Virginia.
When the war, and his military career was over, he began his organized baseball career as a catcher in 1866 with the Union Baseball Club of Rensselaer County, which became the Unions of Lansingburgh. The Unions gained the nickname of Haymakers in August of that year after a visit to the Capitoline Grounds and the Elysian Fields. Later, in 1870, while playing for a Chicago team, he was accused of breaking his contract with the team.
In 1871, Craver joined the Troy Haymakers, who entered the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in the league's first season. He played second base, and after just four games, he replaced Lip Pike as manager. He played well, batting .322, but the team finished in seventh place. For the next two seasons, he joined the Baltimore Canaries, the first of which he was player-manager. He was replaced at manager later in the year by Everett Mills, but stayed with the team through the 1873 season. Playing for the in 1874, he led the league in games played, and as a second baseman, he led the league in putouts and errors. Craver had his best offensive season that year, batting .343 and leading the league in stolen bases. In 1875, he moved over the Philadelphia Centennials. He played in just 13 games for them when, together with George Bechtel, he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics to replace injured players Dave Eggler and Wes Fisler in exchange for $1,500. He led the NA in triples in 1875 with 13.
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