Athletes - Bill Dahlen

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	Athletes - Bill Dahlen

William Frederick Dahlen (January 5, 1870 - December 5, 1950), nicknamed "Bad Bill" for his ferocious temperament, was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball in the 1890s and 1900s, and was also a manager in the 1910s. He played for the Chicago Colts/Orphans (1891-1898), Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1903), New York Giants (1904-1907), Boston Doves (1908-1909), and the Brooklyn Superbas once again in 1910, which were renamed the Dodgers in 1911, his final year as a player. Upon his retirement, he held the major league record for carrer games played, and today he retains several fielding records for shortstops.

Career overview

Dahlen was noted for playing for an extremely long period of time at a difficult position, setting records for assists at shortstop (7500) and an ML-record 13325 total chances. The house that Bill was born in and lived in has been owned by the Nichols family since 1950. There is a board that Bill carved his inititals in as follows; "Will Dahlen Aug. 8, 88". The house is located at the corner of Berthoud and Dahlen and East Main in Nelliston and owned by Joseph W. Nichols and brothers. Louis Berthoud was the builder in 1850 and Berthoud pass in Colorado was named after him. Born in Nelliston, New York, Dahlen was a very good hitter and had a good amount of power for the dead ball era. He compiled a then-record 42-game hitting streak, surpassed three years later by Willie Keeler, who hit in 44 straight; that National League record was later tied by Pete Rose. Even more amazing, after not picking up a hit in the next game, Dahlen pulled off a 28-game streak, ending up having hit in 70 of 71 games.

Dahlen was known for notable hitting occurrences. He hit three triples in a game twice in his career (1896, 1898), and once he tripled twice in one inning.

After the 1903 season, Dahlen was traded to the Giants, the team he'd always strived to play for, in exchange for pitcher Jack Cronin and Charlie Babb. While Cronin and Babb contributed only three bad years to the Dodgers, Dahlen posted great numbers with the Giants, with 80 RBI in his first year, 1904. In 1905, he was a member of the Giants' World Championship team. He was often considered one of the quietest players in the game, keeping to himself most of the time.

In a 21-season career, Dahlen batted .272 with 84 home runs and 1233 runs batted in 2443 games played. He added 413 doubles and 163 triples. His 163 triples is tied for 33rd all-time, along with three Hall of Famers: George Davis, Nap Lajoie, and Lou Gehrig. Dahlen averaged six home runs a year which, at the time, was a significant number. He picked up 2457 hits in 9031 at bats (See: *).

In four years as a manager, all for the Dodgers, Dahlen posted a 251-355 record for a .414 winning percentage. He died in Brooklyn after a long illness at age of 80.

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Athletes - Bill Dahlen

Career overview

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