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NEW BOOK!
Now Available
The Legend of Wild Bill Setley
Who was "Wild Bill" Setley?
When he was a boy, legendary outlaws Jesse and Frank James taught him how to ride and shoot. He played minor league baseball, mostly pitching, for 50 teams - sometimes catching fly balls behind his back and using a peeled potato to deceive base runners. He appeared on Ripley's Believe It Or Not radio show with Lou Gehrig and played baseball in England. He umpired hundreds of games - including some in Cuba in 1908 for the Cincinnati Reds. Twice, players beaned him with thrown baseballs...while he was umpiring. He was the man behind the only game that Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson pitched against each other. He was arrested for bigamy and abduction, but the charges were dropped. He was nearly banned from baseball, and was involved in a game that ended with a score of 2 1/2 to 2. He was a policeman in Tulsa and later a guard at the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
These are just some of the many events in a life as uncommon as the man who lived it for nearly a century. Most are true, but some are tall tales told by a master storyteller and lovable rogue - William "Wild Bill" Setley. Setley's life provides a look at what it was like to earn a living as a minor league ballplayer and umpire in the rough and tumble days of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Just some of the many towns Setley played in were; New York State (Amsterdam, Utica, Oswego, Canandaigua, Herkimer, Johnstown and Auburn); Pennsylvania (York, Philadelphia, Danville, Harrisburg, Altoona, Allentown, Easton, Bloomsburg, Milton, and Reading); Virginia (Staunton, Richmond, Norfolk); as well as Toronto; Newark; Great Falls, Montanna; and many more.
Wild Bill also umpired throughout the country--including the Kitty League, Three I League, Western Association, Oklahoma State Lg, Kansas State Lg, and Southwestern League.
This book tells Wild Bill's extraordinary life story. It is 130 pages, with photos. Price is $11.95 (NY State residents add 8% tax for a total of $12.91), shipping is $3.00 for one book. PayPal payments are accepted. Payments should be sent to (see Order Form):
Erie Canal Productions
4 Farmdale St.
Clinton, NY 13323
For questions or other ordering information, please email ECP.
If you are in Central NY, this book is available at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Oneida County Historical Society on Genesee St. in Utica, Park Row Booksellers in Clinton, Mandolin Winds Books in Cortland, and The Bookery in Ithaca.
About the Authors
Tony Kissel is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, and his childhood heroes were Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. He is researching the NY State League of 1889-1919. He has coached little league for six years in Homer, NY; the best name ever for a baseball town.
Scott Fiesthumel is a SABR member, newspaper columnist for the Life & Times of Utica and the author of books on baseball in New York, including Pent-Ups, Minor League Baseball in Utica, NY 1878-1892 and Barnstorming Champions, The 1920 Adirondack Stars.
ISBN 0-9715617-1-0
