BILL DONOVAN
Pitcher, 1903-1918
"Wild Bill"
--Class of 1920--
Bats - Right
Throws - Right
Born - 10/13/1876
Died - 12/9/1923
Biography:
Tiger owner Frank Navin always kept two photographs near him, of his two favorite players. One of those pictures was of "Wild Bill" Donovan. "Yes, there was a pitcher. What a heart," said Navin. And from all indications, Navin was 100 percent accurate in his assessment. Donovan, whose nickname came from a combination of some early wildness in his career, from his wild running on the basepaths, and from his fiery nature during that got him into more than one scuffle, won 141 games with the Tigers while losing just 96. He posted a 25-4 mark during the Tigers’ 1907 pennant-winning season and was a combined 51-18 during the 1907-09 seasons. He struggled in World Series action (just as the team did), posting a 1-4 mark in postseason play. Donovan left the Tigers in 1915 to be a player-manager for the Yankees, but returned in 1918 to end his career in Detroit. He posted a 2.49 ERA during his tenure with the Tigers.
Pitching:
Code:
Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP ERA ERA+ WHIP
1903 26 DET AL 17 16 35 34 34 4 1 0 307.0 247 104 78 3 95 187 5 7 1231 2.29 127 1.114
1904 27 DET AL 17 16 34 34 30 3 0 0 293.0 251 111 80 5 94 137 11 11 1205 2.46 104 1.177
1905 28 DET AL 18 15 34 32 27 5 2 0 280.7 236 111 81 2 101 135 10 4 1173 2.60 105 1.201
1906 29 DET AL 9 15 25 25 22 0 0 0 211.7 221 92 74 4 72 85 8 2 923 3.15 88 1.384
1907 30 DET AL 25 4 32 28 27 3 4 1 271.0 222 96 66 3 82 123 8 2 1103 2.19 118 1.122
1908 31 DET AL 18 7 29 28 25 6 1 0 242.7 210 78 56 2 53 141 6 3 997 2.08 116 1.084
1909 32 DET AL 8 7 21 17 13 4 4 2 140.3 121 50 36 0 60 76 6 4 595 2.31 109 1.290
1910 33 DET AL 17 7 26 23 20 3 3 0 206.7 184 74 56 4 61 107 7 2 849 2.44 107 1.185
1911 34 DET AL 10 9 20 19 15 1 1 0 168.3 160 83 62 4 64 81 3 3 726 3.31 105 1.331
1912 35 DET AL 1 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 10.0 5 2 1 0 2 6 1 0 37 0.90 363 0.700
1918 41 DET AL 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 6.0 5 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 23 1.50 177 1.000
YR From To W L WL% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+
TOTALS 11 1903 1918 141 96 .595 2.49 261 242 19 213 29 3 2137.3 1862 802 591 27 685 1079 109