Bad Bill Eagan
William Eagan (1869-1905)

William Eagan? Nice, ordinary name.

Bad Bill Eagan? I'm curious

Unfortunately, couldn't find anything on the nickname for this second baseman who played for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association (1891), the Chicago Colts of the National League (1893) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1898).

He hit just .236 in 108 games, though his average with the Pirates was .328 in 19 games.

He was born in Camden, NJ, but died in Denver in 1905. He was only 35.

Vallie Eaves
Vallie Ennis Eaves (1911-1960)

Eaves was born in Allen, OK, and was part Cherokee, which gave the pitcher an inevitable nickname: Chief.

He also fit an unfortunate stereotype: he was an alcoholic, which gave him and his managers problems throughout his long career.

At six-foot-three, Eaves was quite a presence on the mound, but he often had trouble finding the strike zone, which is why he made only 24 major league appearances which were spread over five seasons, eight years (1935-42), and three teams (the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs). In 1940 he gave up 12 bases on balls in a single game, which remains a Chicago White Sox record.

He had outstanding years in the minor leagues:
• 1938: Texarkana (East Texas League) – 15-4
• 1939: Shreveport (Texas League) – 21-10
• 1945: San Diego (Pacific Coast League) – 21-15
• 1947: Texarkana (Big State League) – 25-5
• 1950: Leesville (Gulf Coast League) – 26-10

He pitched until his 40s, making his last appearance for Hobbs of Canada's Southwestern League in 1957. He'd retired three years before, but briefly unretired so he could join his son, Jerry, on the Hobbs roster.

Vallie Eaves died in 1960. He was 48.

Eddie Eayrs
Edwin Eayrs (1890-1969)

This outfielder-pitcher has a name that sounds like either a Damon Runyon character or a member of Tony Soprano's mob.

He played in just 114 major league games over three National League seasons with three teams – Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Boston. In 1920, with the Braves, he hit .328 in 87 games. (His other averages were .167 and .095.) As a pitcher he was 1-2 in 11 games with a 6.23 earned run average.

He was a Brown University graduate who returned to his alma mater and coached the school's baseball team in the 1940s.

Hod Eller
Horance Owen Eller (1894-1961)

This pitcher won 20 games for Cincinnati in 1919, including a no-hitter, and beat the White Sox twice in that tainted World Series. In the opener Eller struck out six straight batters, a Series record. On May 11 of that season he pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Eller had a dirty little secret – a pitch called the shineball which involved dirt, spit and some hard rubbing. The result was a pitch that fluttered as it approached the plate. Sounds weird, but Major League Baseball outlawed the pitch in 1920 and a year later Eller was out of the majors. He was only 27.

He was a pitcher – primarily for Dodgers and Phils (1925-34) – and was called Jumbo because he was big (6-foot-3, 215 pounds). His best season: 1931, when he was 19-14 for Philadelphia.

Jewel Ens
Jewel Winkelmeyer Ens (1889-1950)

Infielder (1922-25) and longtime manager, mostly in minors, Ens had an older brother named Anton, a first baseman known as Mutz Ens.

Jewel Ens was the Syracuse manager when I attended my first game there. Now that I know his middle name, Ens is even more memorable.

Aubrey Epps
Aubrey Lee Epps (1912-1984)

This catcher was nicknamed "Yo-Yo"? I'd have preferred "Hic".

Epps? He'd have preferred a second chance. After all, he had three hits, including a triple and three RBIs, in the only major league game he ever played, with Pittsburgh in 1935. The fact he committed two errors might have been the reason the Pirates never used him again.

Still ... how many baseball players can say they had a lifetime major league batting average of .750?

Hoot Evers
Walter Arthur Evers (1921-1991)

Evers was a promising Detroit Tiger prospect who played his first American League game in 1941. World War II then interrupted his career and he didn't rejoin the Tigers until 1946. He seemed on his way to fulfilling his promise in 1947 when he hit .296, then had three .300 seasons in a row, peaking in 1950 with a .323 average, 21 home runs, 103 runs batted in and scoring 100 runs.

Then, THUD! His average fell to .224 in 1951. Evers played until 1956, but never again hit better than .264.

After his playing days, Evers remained part of major league baseball. He worked for awhile in the Cleveland Indian farm system and in 1971 became director of Detroit Tiger player development.

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