Heinie Heitmuller

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William Frederick "Heinie" Heitmuller (May 25, 1883 - October 8, 1912) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. He was born in San Francisco, California and died at age 29 in Los Angeles, California. He was buried at Olivet Memorial Park in Colma, California.

[edit] Playing career

After attending the University of California, Heitmuller spent part of two seasons playing in the outfield for the Philadelphia Athletics. His debut was on April 26, 1909, and his final game was on July 23, 1910. He played in 95 major league games, 89 as an outfielder and 69 in left field. Heitmuller had a career batting average of .271 with a .368 on base percentage.

After being released by the Tigers, Heitmuller returned to California to play in the Pacific Coast League. Near the end of the 1912 season, Heitmuller was playing for the PCL Los Angeles Angels and was either leading the league (or 2nd in the league) with a .347 batting average when he was stricken with typhoid fever. He appeared to be having a season that could propel him back to the major leagues, but he died of the fever on October 8, 1912. [1] [2]

[edit] Major league Heinies

"Heinie" was a popular nickname for German baseball players in the early part of the 20th Century. Heitmuller was one of 22 major league Heinies in the first half of the 20th century. Others include: Heinie Beckendorf 1909-1910; Heinie Berger 1907-1910; Heinie Elder 1913-1913; Heinie Groh 1912-1927; [Heinie Heltzel]] 1943-1944; Heinie Jantzen 1912-1912; Heinie Kappel 1887-1889; Heinie Manush 1923-1939 - the only Hall of Fame "Heinie"; Heinie Meine 1922-1934, also known as "The Count Of Luxemburg"; Heinie Mueller 1920-1935; Heinie Mueller 1938-1941; Heinie Odom 1925-1925; Heinie Peitz 1892-1913; Heinie Reitz 1893-1899; Heinie Sand 1923-1928; Heinie Scheer 1922-1923; Heinie Schuble 1927-1936; Heinie Smith 1897-1903; Heinie Stafford 1916-1916; Heinie Wagner 1902-1918; andHeinie Zimmerman 1907-1919 -- implicated in the Chicago "Black Sox" scandal. No Major League ballplayer has gone by the nickname "Heinie" since the end of World War II.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Almanac