Bill Steen
William John Steen was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball as a right-handed pitcher for 12 years from 1907 to 1917 and 1919, including four years in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. He appeared in 108 major league games and compiled a 28–32 win–loss record with a 3.05 earned run average and 265 strikeouts.
Early years
Steen was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1887. Steen attended Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, before playing professional baseball.Professional baseball
Minor leagues
Steen began playing professional baseball for a team in Emlenton, Pennsylvania. In 1907, he was signed by the Toledo Mud Hens who farmed him to the New Castle Nocks of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League. On July 15, 1907, he pitched two complete games in a double-header for New Castle and won both games, allowing only three hits in the second game. He accomplished the feat again on July 27, 1907, pitching 12 innings in the first game and allowing only four hits in the second game. He reportedly pitched and won seven double-headers, including four shutout games, and finished his first season in professional baseball with a 17–16 record.Steen continued to play in the minor leagues for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1908. He won his first six games for Toledo, but he became ill and finished with a 12–10 record. He moved on in 1909 to Grand Rapids where his record was 10-10 and then to the Bloomington Bloomers where he was 18–15.