From the 1914 Superior team photo	William Bishop Born William Bischoff Born: August 5, 1888 Died: September 22, 1975 Goto Baseball Reference for William Bishop p Majors: No
	St. Louis Position: p First game: July 10, 1913 Last game: September 14, 1913 # of games: 19	Played for the semipro club Alpen Braus (St. Louis Star, July 11, 1913), along with Ray O'Brien. Described as a tall right-hander. Both the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (April 24, 1914) and the Superior Express (April 30, 1914) reported that Bishop, Kempin and Green, all of the St. Louis Federals, signed with Superior (Nebraska) for the 1914 season. Name given (incorrectly) as Al Bishop in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on August 24, 1913.

It looks like Bishop may have made his debut in the St. Louis area in 1912, when Alton captain Kavanaugh "tried out a new pitcher, Bishop by name, against the St. Louis Blues in a Trolley League game (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 2, 1912).

In 1914, Bishop signed to play with Superior in the Nebraska State League, along with Ed Green and Scotty Kempin (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 24, 1914). At the time, he was referred to as Henry Bishop both in the Globe-Democrat and the Superior Express (April 30, 1914). However, at the end of the season, the Superior Weekly Journal wrote:

"W. F. Bishop left this morning for a few days' visit at Wymore before going to his home at St. Louis. Bishop expects to play ball in this part of the country again next year" (October 15, 1914).

In 1915, the club in Fairbury, Nebraska, signed several players from the Superior club, including Ed Green and "Adam Bishop" (Fairbury Daily News, April 15, 1915). Bishop left Fairbury for Agra, Kansas in July, shortly before the Nebraska State League collapsed.

Baseball-Reference identifies the pitcher with Superior in 1914 as William F. Bishop, who subsequently played for Muskogee, Okalahoma, in 1916. When he joined Muskogee, the Muskogee Daily Phoenix wrote "Walter Bishop, one of the best right-handed flingers in middle west leagues, will be the first twirler to take the mound for the Mets this year" (March 12, 1916, pg. 22). The paper subsequently noted "Will Bishop, a tall, well-built twirler... is a Nebraska State league performer but when the organization blew up last year... went into the study of law" (March 26, 1916). According to the paper, he was a spit ball pitcher with "lots of smoke and apparently good control." Bishop was released by Muskogee on June 10, 1916 (Muskogee Daily Phoenix, June 11, 1916).

The Sporting News Index Card for "Bishop, Wm.F." indicates he pitched for Hopkinsville (KY) in the Kitty League in 1910, Superior in 1914, and Muskogee in 1916. The Hopkinsville Kentuckian identified him as Walter F. Bishop on May 21, 1910 in a listing of players on the club. Pitcher Bishop was released by Hopkinsville in June 1910. There is nothing in the Hopkinsville papers that suggest where he was from.

The trail for Bishop cleanly leads from the Alpen Braus to the St. Louis Federals in 1913. In 1914, he went to Superior in the Nebraska State League; he returned to that league in 1915 with Fairbury. Finally, in 1916 he played for Muskogee in the Western Association. But was his name Al, as given in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on August 24, 1913? Or was it Henry, as given the following spring, when he signed with Superior? Or maybe Adam, or William, or Walter? Inquiring minds want to know. The answer is...

... William Frank Bishop, born as William Bischoff on August 5, 1888 in St. Louis! Three days after Bishop was released by Muskogee, a pitcher named Bishop started appearing in the box scores for the team in Terrell, Texas (outside of Dallas) playing in the Central Texas League. The following season, there is a Bishop pitching for the Armstrong Plovers in the Dallas Intercity League. The Plovers won the Intercity League championship that season, and the club was pictured in Fort Worth Record-Telegram on October 14, 1917. Unfortunately the photo isn't clear enough for a good comparison with Bishop of the Superior club of 1914. However, it seems likely both of these players were in fact Will Bishop, because he registered for the draft in 1917 in Dallas County, Texas, where he was described as tall, medium build with light hair and blue eyes, and working as a clerk in the Cadillac Hotel.

The connecting trail from "Al" Bishop for the Terriers to Will Bishop of Texas goes through his wife, Dycie Polvado Bishop (or at least her name, which turns out to be easy to follow through the Texas newspapers), whom he married in 1935. In 1971, Will Bishop was honored by the Children of the American Revolution in Longview, Texas. The article reported he was a professional pitcher with "the Jackson Michigan Club, St. Louis and the Federal League and the Superior Nebraska baseball club" (Longview News-Journal, October 26, 1971, pg. 7). His wife, Dycie, enlisted in the army in 1943 as a WAC and served 16 months overseas. Following WWII, they moved to Camp Switch (a small town outside Longview), where he worked for an oil company until he retired at age 78.

Bishop died on September 22, 1975. His obituary (Longview News-Journal, September 23, 1975) indicated he was born in St. Louis, was a veteran of World War I, and that he moved to Longview from Dallas 35 years prior. He was burried in Lakeview Memorial Gardens (presumably in Longview). In addition to his wife Dycie, he was survived by a sister, Mrs. Fred Wood of Anna, Illinois. Mrs. Fred Wood was Mary Lee Wood (nee Bishop), wife of Fred Wood. Their grave plot, in Friedens Cemetery in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, also included a brother, Frank C. Bischof. William, Frank, Mary Lee, and August were all children of German immigrants Frederick and Augusta Bischoff, all born in Missouri.

Bishop was one of the toughest players on the club to track down. He vanished from the baseball record very effectively after leaving Muskogee. Had I not discovered an obituary for a William F. Bishop, born in St. Louis in 1888 (right time frame, right place) identifying his wife, I would have never found the article confirming he was in fact the Terriers pitcher. Dycie allowed the complete tracking of his life to the ultimte confirmation. She died in 1992, at the age of 86.

Team photo of the 1914 Superior club from the Nebraska State League. The photo includes Bishop, Green and Kempin. A scan of the original photo can be found at the website about the history of minor league baseball in Nebraska.

The photo of Bishop from the Armstrong Plovers is on the right.