Billy Disch
William John Disch (October 15, 1872 – February 3, 1953) was an American baseball player and coach. He served as the head baseball coach at the University of Texas at Austin from 1911 to 1939 and as an advisory coach for 12 seasons afterwards.
 Disch in 1915 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1872 Benton County, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1953 (aged 80) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Baseball | |
| 1902–1908 | St. Edward's |
| 1911–1939 | Texas |
| Football | |
| c. 1902 | St. Edward's |
| 1910 | St. Edward's |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 515–140–12 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Baseball 2 TIAA (1913–1914) 20 SWC regular season (1915–1921, 1922, 1924–1930, 1932, 1935–1936, 1938–1939) | |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2008 | |
William John Disch (October 15, 1872 – February 3, 1953) was an American baseball player and coach. He served as the head baseball coach at the University of Texas at Austin from 1911 to 1939 and as an advisory coach for 12 seasons afterwards.
Career
[edit]Often called the Connie Mack of college baseball,[1] Disch earned a 513–180–12 overall record at Texas, including a collegiate record of 465-115-9, and garnered 20 Southwest Conference titles with a conference record of 284-70-4.[2] At the time he coached, there were no NCAA postseason playoffs for national honors. Along with Bibb Falk, Disch is one of the two namesakes of UFCU Disch–Falk Field.
Disch managed in minor league baseball, where he also was a player. He managed the 1911 Beeville Orange Growers to a 63–54 record and the Class D level Southwest Texas League championship. Disch also managed the 1903 Fort Worth Panthers of the Class D level Texas League and the 1915 Brenham Huskies of the Class D Middle Texas League for portions of their seasons.[3][4][5]
He was listed as a scout for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in 1948.[6]
Honors
[edit]- In 1947, Disch Field, the home to Austin's minor league teams (Austin Pioneers, 1947-1955; Austin Senators, 1956-1965; Austin Braves, 1966-1967) was named for him. Today, the University of Texas ballpark, UFCU Disch–Falk Field, is named for Disch and Bibb A. Falk.
- Disch was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1954.
- In 1957, Disch was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor at the University of Texas.
- The College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inducted Disch in 1965.[7]
Head coaching record
[edit]College baseball
[edit]The records shown below are only the collegiate record, not the overall record against non-collegiate teams.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Edward's[8] (Independent) (1902–1908) | |||||||||
| 1902 | St. Edward's | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1903 | St. Edward's | 3–0 | |||||||
| 1904 | St. Edward's | 17–4 | |||||||
| 1905 | St. Edward's | 7–7 | |||||||
| 1906 | St. Edward's | 5–9 | |||||||
| 1907 | St. Edward's | 9–2 | |||||||
| 1908 | St. Edward's | 5–1–3 | |||||||
| St. Edward's: | 50–25–3 (.660) | ||||||||
| Texas Longhorns[9] (Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1911–1914) | |||||||||
| 1911 | Texas | 13–10–1 | |||||||
| 1912 | Texas | 17–7–1 | |||||||
| 1913 | Texas | 24–4–2 | 1st | ||||||
| 1914 | Texas | 28–4 | 1st | ||||||
| Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1915–1939) | |||||||||
| 1915 | Texas | 22–4 | 12–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1916 | Texas | 16–6 | 10–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1917 | Texas | 12–2 | 4–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1918 | Texas | 17–1 | 8–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1919 | Texas | 20–1–1 | 12–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1920 | Texas | 17–5 | 9–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1921 | Texas | 15–3–1 | 9–2–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1922 | Texas | 16–5–1 | 10–3–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1923 | Texas | 16–8 | 10–8 | 2nd | |||||
| 1924 | Texas | 28–1 | 22–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1925 | Texas | 16–4–1 | 11–2–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1926 | Texas | 13–2 | 8–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1927 | Texas | 16–4 | 16–4 | 1st | |||||
| 1928 | Texas | 17–4 | 16–4 | 1st | |||||
| 1929 | Texas | 18–4–1 | 16–4–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1930 | Texas | 20–4 | 16–4 | 1st | |||||
| 1931 | Texas | 10–2 | 8–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1932 | Texas | 11–5 | 11–5 | 1st | |||||
| 1933 | Texas | 13–3 | 8–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1934 | Texas | 8–5 | 7–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1935 | Texas | 11–3 | 9–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1936 | Texas | 12–2 | 12–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1937 | Texas | 11–6 | 10–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1938 | Texas | 12–4 | 12–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1939 | Texas | 16–2 | 15–0 | 1st | |||||
| Texas: | 465–115–9 (.797) | 284–70–4 (.799) | |||||||
| Total: | 515–140–12 (.781) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Disch-Falk Field History". Texassports.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
- ^ "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ "1911 Southwest Texas League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1911 Southwest Texas League (STL) minor league baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- ^ "Billy Disch Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., 1948 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book. St. Louis: The Sporting News
- ^ "TSHA | Disch, William John". www.tshaonline.org.
- ^ "St. Edward's Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Hilltopper Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Billy Disch at Find a Grave