From a composite of the 1888 Milwauke club	William Shenkel Born: March, 1862 Died: November 4, 1904 Goto Baseball Reference for William Shenkel p-of Majors: No
	Milwaukee Position: p-of First game: April 28, 1888 Last game: October 7, 1888 # of games: 39	Signed by Milwaukee before November 5, 1887 and remained with the team for the entire season. Player profile from the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel (May 20, 1888).

Over two two seasons (1887 and 1888), lefty Billy Shenkel won 47 games for Milwaukee while losing just 27, including a 19-13 record in 1888. In 1889, he was 1-6 for the club before he was released. He resurfaced that season with St. Paul for one start before finishing the season playing in lower leagues in Wisconsin and Michigan, and ultimately umpiring four games in the Western Association. His career, spanning just four seasons, was over, its demise attributed to "the usual pitcher's weakness, glass arm" (Paducah Sun, January 30, 1897).

William Shenkel was identified through an entry in the 1888 Louisville Street Guide for "William Schankel, baseballist," living at 1235 Reservoir Ave. with his mother Catherine Schankel, widow of Phillip. (Variations on his last name during his career included the most common, Shenkel, as well as Shinkle and Shenkle.) Schankel was born in Louisville, Kentucky in March, 1862. After playing for a club in Frankfort in 1884 and 1885 (with catcher Luke Schildknecht and pitcher Frank Wells), he signed with Decatur in 1886. At this point, he was an infielder, playing mostly at shortstop and third base. He remained with Decatur until mid-June, when he was released to sign with Chatanooga. "Shenkle will leave today for Chatanooga. He aspires to be a pitcher" (Decatur Herald and Review, June 17, 1886). The St. Louis Globe-Democrat subsequently reported that "Ingraham, Grether, Cook and Shenkle [were] released for drunkeness and indifferent playing" (June 28, 1886). He remained with Chatanooga for approximately one month, until that club folded. He then finished the season with pitching for a team in Danville, Kentucky.

After his two successful seasons in Milwaukee in 1887 and 1888, Shenkel developed a sore arm during the spring of 1889. He never really came back to full strength, as evidenced by his unsuccessful 1889 season. Shenkel returned to Louisville, where he was listed in street guides over the next decade as a plumber with his brother Phillip. Philliip married Wilhelmina Schildtknecht, sister of Luke. The Milwaukee newspapers reported that Billy married a Milwaukee girl in the fall of 1888, but by 1900 he was living in Louisville with his sister Amelia's family, and while he was reported as married in the US Census that year, there is no indiction of a wife. He died on November 16, 1904 at the age of 42.

Date	Pos	AB	R	BH	2B	3B	HR	SB	PO	A	E	BB	HPB	K
4-28-1888	p	3	0	1				0	0	5	1
5-4-1888	p	4	1	1			1	0	0	9	3
5-10-1888	p	4	0	1				0	1	8	0			1
5-14-1888	p	4	0	1				0	1	2	3
5-20-1888	p	5	1	2	1			0	0	2	2
5-24-1888	p	4	1	2				1	0	6	4
5-26-1888	cf	4	0	0				0	0	0	0			2
5-29-1888	p	4	1	1				2	0	5	4
5-31-1888	p	2	1	0				1	0	3	4	2
6-19-1888	p	2	0	0				0	0	6	1	1
6-24-1888	p	5	1	1				1	0	4	4
6-29-1888	p	4	0	1					0	8	0			1
7-2-1888	p	4	0	1				1	0	8	0
7-6-1888	p	3	0	0				0	2	3	0
7-9-1888	p	2	0	1	1			0	0	7	1	1
7-15-1888	p	3	0	0				0	0	8	0			1
7-20-1888	p	3	1	0				0	0	1	0		1
7-22-1888	lf	5	0	2	1			0	1	1	0
7-23-1888	p	4	1	0				0	0	10	0
7-28-1888	p	4	0	1				0	0	8	1
7-30-1888	lf	4	0	1				1	1	0	1			1
8-1-1888	lf	3	0	0					1	0	1
8-2-1888	p	4	1	1				0	2	2	0
8-5-1888	lf	3	0	1				1	0	0	0
8-6-1888	p	3	0	0				0	1	6	0
8-9-1888	p	5	0	2				0	0	8	0
8-12-1888	p	4	2	3				1	1	6	0
8-18-1888	p	4	0	1				1	0	3	0
8-22-1888	p	4	1	0				0	1	3	0
8-27-1888	p	3	2	2				0	0	7	0
8-30-1888	p	4	0	0				0	0	2	0
9-2-1888	p	2	1	1				1	1	5	0	1
9-5-1888	p	3	0	0				0	1	5	0
9-14-1888	p	4	1	1				1	1	5	1
9-20-1888	p	3	0	0				0	0	3	0
9-22-1888	p	3	0	0				0	0	3	1
9-30-1888	p	4	1	1				0	0	7	1
10-3-1888	p	4	1	1				0	0	9	0
10-7-1888	p	2	0	0				0	0	2	0
39 Games		139	18	31	3	0	1	12	15	180	33	5	1	6

Date	Pos	IP	H	R	ER	K	BB	HPB	WP
4-28-1888	p	9	14	14	6	4	1	0	1
5-4-1888	p	9	9	7	6	6	2	0	1
5-10-1888	p	9	8	3	3	3	2	1	0
5-14-1888	p	9	6	6	3	1	2	0	0
5-20-1888	p	9	8	5	5	2	1	0	2
5-24-1888	p	8	11	10	1	4	2	0	2
5-29-1888	p	9	4	1	0	0	4	0	0
5-31-1888	p	8	13	13	3	0	4	0	2
6-19-1888	p	8	6	4	3	0	1	0	0
6-24-1888	p	9	11	7	3	0	4	0	2
6-29-1888	p	10	9	5	4	6	0	0	0
7-2-1888	p	9	16	13	7	5	4	0	1
7-6-1888	p	9	7	1	0	1	1	0	0
7-9-1888	p	8	6	4	2	0	2	0	0
7-15-1888	p	9	8	6	4	0	2	0	1
7-20-1888	p	9	6	2	2	0	8	0	1
7-23-1888	p	9	10	5	2	5	0	0	1
7-28-1888	p	9	7	3	1	5	1	0	0
8-2-1888	p	9	13	7	5	0	2	0	0
8-6-1888	p	9	2	2	0	2	1	0	0
8-9-1888	p	11	4	3	0	0	1	0	1
8-12-1888	p	9	3	3	2	0	1	0	0
8-18-1888	p	9	5	1	1	0	3	0	0
8-22-1888	p	9	10	5	3	0	0	0	0
8-27-1888	p	9	6	2	1	3	0	3	0
8-30-1888	p	9	9	6	0	1	0	0	0
9-2-1888	p	9	16	12	7	2	3	0	2
9-5-1888	p	9	9	6	6	4	2	0	0
9-14-1888	p	9	7	2	2	4	4	0	1
9-20-1888	p	9	7	0	0	0	0	0	1
9-22-1888	p	9	3	3	0	0	4	0	0
9-30-1888	p	9	11	10	0	6	4	0	1
10-3-1888	p	9	5	3	1	8	2	0	3
10-7-1888	p	6	2	1	0	2	0	0	0
34 Games		302	271	175	83	74	68	4	23