Billy Hulen

William Franklin "Kid"[1] Hulen (March 12, 1870 – October 2, 1947) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Senators. He stood at 5'8" and weighed 148 lbs.

Billy Hulen
Shortstop
Born: (1870-03-12)March 12, 1870
Dixon, California
Died: October 2, 1947(1947-10-02) (aged 77)
Santa Rosa, California
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 2, 1896, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
May 12, 1899, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average.246
Home runs0
Runs batted in41
Teams

Career

Hulen was born in Dixon, California. He got his start in organized baseball in 1892, for the Los Angeles Seraphs of the California League. In 1895, at the age of 25, Hulen batted .369 for the Western League's Minneapolis Millers.[2] He made his major league debut the following season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

A lithograph of Hulen in 1892.

Hulen batted .265 for Philadelphia. He went back to the Western League for the following two seasons and then returned to the National League in 1899 with the Washington Senators. In 19 games, he batted just .147 and never played in the majors again. Hulen is probably best known for being the last regular left-handed shortstop in MLB history.[3][4] He also holds the lefty record for the most games played (73 in 1896) at the position.[5]

Hulen played for and managed various minor league teams from 1900 to 1913. He managed future Hall of Famer Joe Tinker in 1900[6] and later recommended Tinker to the Western League.[7] In 1904, he managed Everett to a league championship.[1]

Hulen was reported missing in February 1906; he had apparently failed to visit his wife in Oregon and could not be located. Foul play was suspected.[8] A year later, he was discovered playing baseball under an assumed name in Medicine Hat, Canada, and his wife then filed for divorce, citing desertion.[1]

Hulen began using his real name again in 1908. He managed in Spokane, Washington; Medicine Hat; and Regina, Saskatchewan over the next several years.[2]

Hulen died in Santa Rosa, California, in 1947. He was buried in Cypress Hill Memorial Park.[9]

References
  1. "Western Canada Baseball 1907". attheplate.com. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  2. "Billy Hulen Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  3. Nemec, David and Zeman, Dave. The Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia (Brassey's, 2004), p. 58.
  4. Dexter, Charles. "Throws: L - Bats: R". Baseball Digest, April 1957, p. 7.
  5. Wilks, Ed. "Like Offbeat Records? How About These?" Baseball Digest, December 1963, vol. 10, p. 40.
  6. Bogen, Gil. Tinker, Evers, and Chance: A Triple Biography (McFarland, 2003), p. 17.
  7. Jacobsen, Lenny. "Joe Tinker" Archived 2010-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. bioproj.sabr.org. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  8. "California County's News 1906". freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  9. "Billy Hulen Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
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