William Ellsworth Blair had just made arrangements to join the Chicago Colts, even offering to pay $500 toward securing his release from Hamilton (Ont) so that he could sign there. Hamilton, however, held out and got a second offer for Blair’s services from Ned Hanlon, who wanted a “home” battery for his Pittsburgh entry in the new Players League. (Blair hailed from Pittsburgh.)

A week later, the coveted left-handed pitcher came down with typhoid fever and in about two weeks, Blair had advanced to the next league.

Blair did get a chance in the majors with the American Association’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1888. He proved he could pitch, throwing three complete games and winning one of four decisions with good walks and hits allowed rates, even though he allowed a lot of unearned runs. In 1889 he went to Hamilton and logged some 463 innings. The Colts thought if Blair played in front of a top-level defense (which the Colts had then) he’d be an ace.

Sadly, we’ll never know.

What we do know, however, is that his gravestone doesn’t have a single date right on it.

William Ellsworth Blair was born September 17, 1863 in Pittsburgh to John and Susanna Blair, the second of two children born to the carpenter and a busy mom. Like his dad, Blair took up carpentry as his non-baseball job, but he was playing amateur ball by 1882. By 1887 Billy Blair was taking regular turns in the rotation for two teams in the Ohio State League where he made 35 starts and completed all but one while winning 21 games. Blair started that season with Zanesville and, despite winning 9 of 11 decisions, the captain of that team didn’t seem to like Blair.

In fact, Patrick Welch (or Welsh) apparently was needling Blair from the beginning of the season and regularly told Blair that he wasn’t a very good pitcher and that his fine record was completely due to “bull luck.” Prior to a June game, pitcher Jack Easton didn’t have a uniform to wear so Welch asked Blair to give his uniform up for the game. Blair told Welch that he had no interest in wearing a suit that any other player could wear and told Welch he’d leave the team if forced to do so. Welch insisted and Blair left the ballpark. Zanesville filed paperwork – but then tried to use Blair but couldn’t because of a rule that prevented teams from using players within five days of release forms being filed with the league. Mansfield then jumped at the chance to sign Blair – and Blair finished the season there.

In early 1888 he was added to the roster of an Athletics reserve team in Philadelphia, sort of an affiliated professional exhibition team, before getting chances to pitch with the Athletics. Later that summer, he was promoted to the major league team. Blair threw a three hitter in his first game, a 4 – 3 loss to Baltimore on July 19, 1888 thanks to a couple of errors and two untimely walks that cost him the win. In addition to his one MLB win, he also beat the St. Louis Browns, 10 – 3, in an exhibition game.

Despite what his gravestone says, Blair died on February 22, 1890 at his parent’s home and was buried in Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Sources:

1870, 1880 US Census Data
Pittsburgh Death Registry, 1890

“Notes” Zanesville Times-Recorder, June 21, 1887: 1.
“Blair Released,” Zanesville Signal, June 25, 1887: 1.
“The Athletics Lose by Errors,” Philadelphia Times, July 20, 1888: 3.
“The Game at Gloucester,” Philadelphia Times, September 3, 1888: 3.
“Trying for Blair,” Pittsburgh Dispatch, January 31, 1890: 6.
“The Fruit of Marr’s Successful Bluff,” The Sporting Life, February 5, 1890: 7.
“Pitcher Blair Dead,” Philadelphia Times, February 23, 1890: 6.