Bill Cash (baseball)

William Walker Cash (February 21, 1919 – September 12, 2011), nicknamed "Ready", was an American baseball player who became an all-star catcher in the Negro leagues.

He batted and threw right-handed.

Cash earned his nickname when he was benched and protested to a team manager, "When I put on the uniform, I'm ready to play".

Cash spent his entire Negro league career with the Philadelphia Stars.

He also played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox's farm teams and teams in Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela (Guerilus).

After his retirement from baseball, Cash was an active member of the Philadelphia community

Cash was born to Arthur "Buster" Cash and Lela Lloyd Cash in 1919.

He was born in Round Oak, Georgia.

The family moved to an area of Philadelphia called Eastwick-Elmwood in 1924.

his family lived in the Meadows area near the Philadelphia International Airport.

Cash graduated from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia in 1939.

At Overbrook, Cash was the only black player on the baseball and he quit the squad to play semi-pro ball elsewhere.

Cash spent four years playing for semi-pro teams in Philadelphia, including the Camden Giants, the Black Meteors, and the Philadelphia Daisies (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum).

Webster McDonald, manager of the Daisies, introduced Cash to Goose Curry, manager of the Philadelphia Stars, when he felt that Cash was ready to move up (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum).

Curry ended up signing Cash to play for him.

Cash met and fell in love with Sadie Bell Brooks in 1940.

The couple married on September 7, 1940.

They also had three children, William W. Cash Jr., Janet Cash, and Michael Cash.

They were married for 63 years.

His family was a great source of his pride.

Cash began to play for the Philadelphia Stars in 1943.

His batting average coming out of the semi-pros was .321, but he only batted .258 during his rookie season in the Negro league.

His reputation was tarnished on Opening Day in 1946 during an argument with an umpire.

In the skirmish, the umpire fell and while he was on his hands and knees, an angry Goose Curry, stormed the field and kicked him.

Cash was suspended for three days and fined $25 for his role in the incident.

Cash was slated to catch for Satchel Paige's barnstorming All-Star team in 1946, but could not due to a broken thumb.

He did participate in the East-West All-Star games of 1948 and 1949.

Cash began the 1948 game as a substitute, but caught the entire game in 1949 in which he called the pitches as the East held a two-hit shutout of the West All-Stars.

Cash's Negro league career came to an end in 1950 when he left the Stars only a few games into the season to join the Mexico City Red Devils.

In Mexico, he batted .311, higher than any year he played with the Stars, and registered 15 home runs.

Later, Cash went on to play for the Granby Red Sox in the Provincial League of Canada, batting .296 with 16 home runs.

Cash signed with Chicago White Sox in 1952, hoping to play for their major league team, but was relegated to their farm teams instead.

Cash claimed that the White Sox organization promised him a Class A position, but he was given a Class B position instead.

He split the season with the Superior Blues in Superior, Wisconsin, (where he spent less than 10 games) and the Waterloo White Hawks in Waterloo, Iowa.

He suffered more injuries throughout the 1952 season, battling bursitis in his shoulder and a broken leg.

Cash hit .347, his highest batting average yet, with the Brandon Braves in 1953.

For the next three years he played in the Dominican Republic for the Licey Tigers.

Cash ended his baseball career in Bismarck, North Dakota, playing alongside other Negro league greats such as Ray Dandridge and Art Pennington.

During his last season, he had a career-high batting average of .369.

After Cash retired from baseball in 1955, he took a job at Westinghouse Electric, where he worked as a machinist for 30 years.