• Card series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
• City: Indianapolis
• Team: Hoosiers (NL)
• League: National League

William Byron Burdick (1859-1949) came to professional baseball relatively late in life. His first known appearance for a minor league team, the Eau Claire Lumbermen of the Northwestern League, was at age 26 in 1886. Perhaps because of his “advanced” age, he didn’t waste time getting a shot in the big leagues. 1887 saw him pitching for Oshkosh before he climbed to the Western Association’s Omaha Omahogs in ‘88, the same year he debuted with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League. The rookie started with a bang, edging Cap Anson’s first-place White Stockings 2-1 on July 23. He would win ten that season with only a .500 record but a fine 2.81 ERA. Burdick came back in ‘89 with the Hoosiers but saw little action, going 2-4 in ten games and seeing his ERA soar to 4.53.

• His MLB tenure ended, Burdick returned to the WA’s Sioux City Corn Huskers in 1889 and ‘90
• The Austin MN native closed his pro ball adventure near home with the Minneapolis Millers in 1891 where he started three games with a 1-0 record