19th Century		Billy Earle
		Full Name: William Moffat Earl "The Little Globetrotter" Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5-10 Weight: 170 Born: Nov 10, 1867 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died: May 30, 1946 in Omaha, Nebraska College: None Major League Debut: April 27,, 1889

[From The New York Clipper July 23, 1892.]
William M. Earle is one of the many prominent professionals who hail from Philadelphia. He was born in that city Nov. 10, 1867, and gained his first experience on the ball field while catching for amateur clubs, the most notable being the Somerset, with which he played in 1885. He handled the very swift delivery of Brynan in fifty-one games that year in such a creditable manner that he averaged nine put outs and four assists to a game. Earle's first professional engagement was with the Nashville Club in 1886, when he did fine work behind the bat and ranked first of the catchers in the official fielding averages of the Southern League. In 1887 he caught for the Duulth Club of the Northwestern League, being behind the bat in seventy-two of its championship games. His next engagement was with the St. Paul Club, of the Western Association, in 1888, when he caught in fifty-six championship games and his clever work led to his engagement at the close of the season by A.G. Spalding, who was then organizing a combination to tour around the world. Earle caught the swift pitching of Crane and Healy for the All America team, captained by John M. Ward, which, in combination with the Chicago Club's team, made a tour around the world during the Winter of 1888-89. During this trip, one of the longest and most memorable in the annals of baseball, the two teams played in all fifty three games, of which the All Americas were credited with twenty-eight victories, this creditable result being in a measure due to the very clever manner in which Earle handled the swift delivery of Healy and Crane. In 1889 Earle caught for the Cincinnati Club, of the American Association, his release having been purchased from the St. Paul Club. Like a majority of the men who made that memorable trip around the world, he did not show up as well as usual during the following season. Having hurt his hand, Earle was released by the Cincinnati Club, and his next engagement was with the St. Louis Browns in 1890. Earle made a remarkable record for continuous service in 1891, when he caught in no fewer than one hundred and nineteen consecutive championship games for the Sioux City Club, besides being behind the bat in twenty-six exhibition contests. He caught in his best form in 1891, and ranked high in the official fielding averages of the Western Association at the close of that season. At the commencement of the present season Earle was engaged as one of the catchers of the Pittsburg Club, of the National League and American Association. That team, however, having too many catchers, he was released before he had a fair opportunity to show his ability, and he then accepted an engagement with the Seattle Club, of the Pacific Northwest League, and has since caught in a majority of its games, making another great record for continuous service behind the bat. He is a clever catcher, handling with ease the swiftest and wildest pitching, and throwing accurately to bases. As an outfielder he has shown up well in the few games when he was spared behind the bat. He is also a timely and reliable hitter and a fleet base runner, this in conjunction with his clever catching, making him a valuable acquisition to any professional team.

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