# Bill Zuber

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{{Short description|American baseball player (1913–1982)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name       = Bill Zuber
| image      = Bill Zuber 1947.jpg
| caption    = Zuber in 1947
| position   = [Pitcher](/source/Pitcher)
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1913|3|26}}
| birth_place = [Middle Amana, Iowa](/source/Middle_Amana%2C_Iowa), U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1982|11|2|1913|3|26}}
| death_place = [Cedar Rapids, Iowa](/source/Cedar_Rapids%2C_Iowa), U.S.
| bats       = Right
| throws     = Right
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate  = September 16
| debutyear  = 1936
| debutteam  = Cleveland Indians
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate  = September 23
| finalyear  = 1947
| finalteam  = Boston Red Sox
| stat1label = [Win–loss record](/source/Win%E2%80%93loss_record_(pitching))
| stat1value = 43–42
|statleague = MLB
| stat2label = [Earned run average](/source/Earned_run_average)
| stat2value = 4.28
| stat3label = [Strikeout](/source/Strikeout)s
| stat3value = 383
| teams      =
*[Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Indians) ({{Baseball year|1936}}–{{Baseball year|1940}})
*[Washington Senators](/source/Washington_Senators_(1901%E2%80%9360)) ({{Baseball year|1941}}–{{Baseball year|1942}})
*[New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) ({{Baseball year|1943}}–{{Baseball year|1946}})
*[Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox) ({{Baseball year|1946}}–{{Baseball year|1947}})
|highlights=
* [World Series](/source/World_Series) champion ({{wsy|1943}})
}}
'''William Henry Zuber''' (March 26, 1913 – November 2, 1982) was an American professional [baseball](/source/baseball) [pitcher](/source/pitcher). He had an 11-year [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) career between 1936 and 1947. He pitched his entire career in the [American League](/source/American_League) with the [Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Indians), [Washington Senators](/source/Washington_Senators_(1961%E2%80%9371)), [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) and [Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox). Bill was born and raised in Middle Amana, Iowa, a [community of German pietists](/source/Community_of_True_Inspiration) who until 1932 practiced a form of [communitarian living](/source/Christian_communism).<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Change and a Parting: My Story of Amana|last=Yambura|first=Barbara|publisher=Iowa State University Press|year=1960|location=Iowa|pages=106}}</ref>

==Playing career==

=== Indians===
Zuber made his professional debut in 1932, and joined the [Zanesville Greys](/source/Zanesville_Greys) of the [Middle Atlantic League](/source/Middle_Atlantic_League), a minor league team in the Indians' organization, in 1933. After several more seasons in the minor leagues, Zuber spent most of the 1936 season playing for the Greys, finishing with a 17–8 record and over 200 strikeouts.<ref>{{cite news|first=Russell|last=Hockenbury|title=Haley First in Effectiveness Among Mid-Atlantic Hurlers|publisher=The Sporting News|page=9|date=1936-12-17}}</ref> He made his Major League debut on September 16, 1936, with the Cleveland Indians.<ref name=br>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/z/zuberbi01.shtml|title=Bill Zuber Statistics|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=2008-01-19}}</ref> In his first game against the Boston Red Sox, he pitched five innings and earned a [win](/source/Win_(baseball)) in the six-inning affair which was shortened due to rain.<ref>{{cite news|title=Highlights Of The Week|publisher=[The Sporting News](/source/The_Sporting_News)|page=2|date=1936-09-24}}</ref> After starting a second game and finishing the season with one win and one [loss](/source/Loss_(baseball)), he spent the 1937 season playing for the [Milwaukee Brewers](/source/Milwaukee_Brewers_(minor_league_baseball_team)) of the [American Association](/source/American_Association_(20th_century)).  He rejoined the Indians during the 1938 and 1939 seasons and was used as a [relief pitcher](/source/relief_pitcher). In the two seasons, he posted a 2–3 record and finished 16 games.<ref name=br/> He finished the 1940 season with a 1–1 record, and on April 21, 1941, the Washington Senators purchased his contract from the Indians.<ref name=br/>

===Senators and Yankees===
Zuber spent two seasons with the Senators, starting seven games and finishing 19 both seasons.<ref name=br/> He was [classified 4-F](/source/4F_(military_conscription)) by the military, and as a result was able to remain with the team during World War II.<ref name=bl>{{cite web|url=https://baseballbiography.com/bill-zuber-1913|title=The Ballplayers – Bill Zuber|publisher=baseballbiography.com|access-date=2007-01-19}}</ref> In 1942, he won a career high nine games.<ref name=br/> On January 29, 1943, Zuber was traded to the Yankees with cash for [Jerry Priddy](/source/Jerry_Priddy) and Milo Candini.<ref name=br/> The [1943 New York Yankees](/source/1943_New_York_Yankees_season) went on to win the world series, with Zuber finishing the season with an 8–4 record over 20 games, which included 13 starts and 7 [complete game](/source/complete_game)s.<ref name=br/> He did not pitch in the [1943 World Series](/source/1943_World_Series). He remained an occasional starter the following two seasons, winning five games in both seasons and earning a 3.19 [earned run average](/source/earned_run_average) in 1945.<ref name=br/> Although he only posted a 5–11 record for the season, the Yankees were [shutout](/source/shutout) 14 times during the season, seven when Zuber was pitching, a club record.<ref name=bl/><ref>{{cite news|first=Art|last=Flynn|title=Zinker Zuber Zunk in Zeven of 14 Blanks Against Yanks|work=The Sporting News|page=2|date=1945-09-27}}</ref>

===Boston Red Sox===
At the start of the [1946 season](/source/1946_New_York_Yankees_season), Zuber pitched three games and had an ERA of over 12 before he was purchased by the Boston Red Sox on June 18.<ref name=br/> He went on to post a 5–1 record and a career-low 2.54 ERA during the [remainder of the season](/source/1946_Boston_Red_Sox_season).<ref name=br/> On September 21, Zuber won a game against the Senators, which gave the Red Sox their 100th victory of the season.<ref name=bl/> Zuber appeared in game four of the [1946 World Series](/source/1946_World_Series), pitching two innings and allowing one run in a 12–3 loss to the [St. Louis Cardinals](/source/St._Louis_Cardinals).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=194610100BOS|title=1946 World Series Game 4 Box Score|publisher=Baseball Almanac|access-date=2008-01-20}}</ref> After pitching 20 games during the 1947 season, Zuber returned to the minor leagues for a season, pitching for the [Louisville Colonels](/source/Louisville_Colonels_(minor_league_baseball)) in 1948, before retiring.

==Life after baseball==
After retirement, Zuber started a restaurant in [Homestead, Iowa](/source/Homestead%2C_Iowa) of the [Amana Colonies](/source/Amana_Colonies) in 1949.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Dewitte|title=Zuber's Restaurant makes a return to its hotel past.|publisher=[The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)](/source/The_Gazette_(Cedar_Rapids))|date=2007-05-27}}</ref> Zuber died in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on November 2, 1982.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Baseballstats | br=z/zuberbi01 | fangraphs=1014460|brm=zuber-001wil}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuber, Bill}}
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Cleveland Indians players
Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:New York Yankees players
Category:Boston Red Sox players
Category:Cedar Rapids Bunnies players
Category:Zanesville Greys players
Category:Fargo-Moorhead Twins players
Category:New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
Category:Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Category:Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
Category:Baseball players from Iowa
Category:People from Iowa County, Iowa
Category:1913 births
Category:1982 deaths

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Zuber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Zuber) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Zuber?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.