Batting average .277 Role Baseball player Name Kid Nance | Runs Batted in 99 Home runs 7 | |
Died May 28, 1958, Fort Worth, Texas, United States | ||
William Gideon "Kid" Nance, born as William G. Cooper, (August 2, 1876 – May 28, 1958), also known as "Doc", was a professional baseball player who played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball during three seasons. He was a member of the Louisville Colonels of the National League in 1897 and 1898, and then the Detroit Tigers of the American League in 1901.
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Early career
William "Kid" Nance was born on August 2, 1876 in Fort Worth, Texas, and began his professional baseball career at the age of 18 when he played for two different clubs in the Class-B minor league baseball Texas-Southern League during the 1895 season. First, he joined the Fort Worth Panthers but he left the team shortly thereafter to join the Sherman Orphans, a team that began play that season. The Texas-Southern League became the Class-C Texas Association in 1896, and Nance re-joined for the Panthers, however, by August the team folded, and he completed the season with the Galveston Sandcrabs.
Major league career
Though the Panthers had restarted their operations for the 1897 season, Nance stayed with the Sandcrabs, only to be signed by the Louisville Colonels of the National League later that year, making his Major League Baseball debut on August 19 of that season. He has the distinction of being the first person from Fort Worth to play in the major leagues. He appeared in 35 games for the Colonels, mainly as a right fielder, although he occasionally played in center field. He had a .242 batting average in 120 at bats, hit three home runs, and scored 25 runs. He began the 1898 season with the Colonels, but after 22 games played and a .316 batting average, he was released from the club; he completed the season with the Paterson Weavers of the Atlantic League, joining them on May 31.
In 1899 and 1900, he moved north to play with the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League, a league that was renamed the American League in 1900. Nance played as a third baseman for the Millers, and had a .268 batting average in 129 games played for the 1900 team. He began the 1901 season with the Grand Rapids Furniture Makers of the Western Association, but was quickly signed by the Detroit Tigers of the American League. Nance appeared in 132 games for the Tigers that season, nearly all as their starting left fielder. In 466 at bats, he collected 129 hits for a .280 batting average, hit three home runs, and led the American League in sacrifice hits with 24. That season, on July 13, 1901, Nance had a six-hit game at Bennett Park, in which the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Blues 19-12 in nine innings.
Return to the minor leagues
From 1902 until mid-season 1905, Nance played for the Kansas City Blues (known as the Cowboys in 1903) of the class-A American Association, although in 1902, they were an independent team. For the remainder of the 1905 season and the entire 1906 season, he played for the Toledo Mud Hens, also of the American Association. In 1907, he split his playing time between the Trenton Tigers of the Tri-State League, and the Sioux City Packers of the new Western League. He returned to the Texas League in 1908, playing a full season with the Waco Navigators, then in 1909, he rejoined the Fort Worth Panthers, while also playing a stint with the Shreveport Pirates.
In 1910, Nance departed the Texas League for a full season in the Cotton States League with the Jackson Tigers, only to return to the Panthers for the 1911 season. In 1912, he began the season with the Panthers, but later played with two other Texas League teams, the Beaumont Oilers and the San Antonio Bronchos.
In 1913, Nance re-joined the Panthers, this time as their player-manager and remained in that capacity for the entire season. He began the 1914 season, again as their player-manager, although with the team in fifth place on July 7, he was replaced by Jake Atz, the team's second baseman. The move did not improve the team's place in the standings, finishing the season in fifth place, and Nance had moved on to play with the Austin Senators and Waco Navigators of the Texas League, and the Oklahoma City Boosters of the Western Association. Nance returned to the Panthers in 1915 as their player-manager, with a similar result, departing on June 15 when the team while in fifth place, again with Atz as his replacement.
In 1916, Nance managed the Terrell Terrors of the class-D Central Texas League. He later became manager of Texas Christian University's baseball team. He was playing for the Tampa Smokers of the Florida State League in 1921, when he was invited to play with the Washington Senators of the American League, when they arrived in Tampa for Spring training, though he did not make the club. It was noted that he was a local fan favorite due to his hard work and aggressiveness. In 1923, he became the Smokers' manager. During spring training in 1924, the Senators came to Tampa once again, and Nance was enlisted to assist with the training of their catchers, and it was reported that he was going to be offered a contract as well; however, there is no record of serving the team in any capacity. In 1925, Nance was the Smokers' general manager when he was introduced to future Hall of Fame catcher, Al López, and gave him a tryout. After watching the 17-year-old Lopez play, Nance signed him to a contract worth $150 a month in salary.
Nance died on May 28, 1958 at the age of 81 in his hometown of Fort Worth, and is interred at Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park.