Bill Dinneen made big baseball news in January 1902 when he jumped from the National League’s Boston Beaneaters to their upstart rivals in the new American League, the Boston Americans.
The right-hander gave the Americans an ace to build around and the durable Dinneen went 21-21 in his first AL campaign while facing an American League-high 1,508 batters.
He was a 20-game winner again in both 1903 and 1904, helping Boston to back-to-back pennants and helped pitch the Americans to a huge upset of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903, starting four times and going 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.057 WHIP in 35 innings, striking out 28 in Boston’s eight-game victory.
Dinneen began to fade after that 1904 season, posting losting marks in both 1905 and 1906 and being traded to the St. Louis Browns in June 1907 after going 0-4 in his first five starts.
In parts of six seasons with the Americans, Dinneen was 85-85 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.139 WHIP, working 180 games, starting 174 and throwing 1,501 innings while fanning 602. His ERA+ was 106.
Dinneen had pitched two seasons with the old, old Washington Senators in the National League before going to the Beaneaters in 1900. He pitched parts of three seasons with the Browns, with his final game in August 1909.
Dinneen wasn’t ready to leave baseball and after a successful one-month trial in September 1909, joined the umpiring staff of the American League, working until the end of the 1937 season, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
He retired to his native Syracuse, New York, and died Jan. 13, 1955 from a heart condition at the age of 78.