Bill Shipke
Nebraska Baseball

 

According to various basball references, Bill Shipke was born in St. Louis in 1882. According to his obituary in the Omaha paper he was born in Colorado and his real name was Shipkrethaver. The Sporting News obituary (9/19/1940) also indicated that he was born in Colorado on November 18,1882. They also confirmed that his actual name was Shipkrethaver.

He made his professional debut with Springfield in the class "D" Missouri Valley League. In 1903 he played for Fort Scott and averaged .306.

He was drafted in 1904 by Omaha and averaged .229 in 146 games. Cleveland then bought him from Pa Rourke. They returned him to Omaha for the 1905 season where he averaged .262 in 143 games.

He made his major league debut in 1906 with Cleveland. He played in 2 games and was then farmed out to Des Moines for the rest of the season. He averaged .259 and stole 35 bases for Des Moines.

He played for Washington in the American League from 1907-1909. He played in 64 games in 1907, 111 in 1908 and 9 in 1909. He also played 73 games in Des Moines in 1907.

T206 Photoshopped
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He spent most of the 1909 season in Omaha and averaged .287. He then became a fixture in the infield in Omaha playing from 1909-1914 inclusive. His best year was 1914 when he averaged .294.

His obituary states that he played for Sioux City in 1915 but none of the baseball references I consulted could confirm that statement. He managed an independent team at Yankton in 1915 and 1916.

After a few years of retirement he returned to baseball as a manager in 1920 with Huron in the South Dakota League. He also managed Aberdeen in 1922.

He was hired as a scout by Cincinnati in 1929 and then was hired by Cleveland as a scout. He continued as a scout until his death in 1940. He died in Omaha of heart trouble in 1940.

 

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