William Baker “Babe” Borton was born in Marion, Illinois on August 14, 1888 the son of Reuben Borton and Mattie Simmons.When his father died in 1889, he and his mother were forced to live with his grandmother in Carbondale. Borton was a member of the 1904 Marion Township High School baseball team.

In February of 1912 he married Pearl Leonardi at St. Joseph, Missouri.

He started his professional baseball career in 1910, at the age of 21. In 1912, he was hitting .369 in the Western League when he was acquired by the White Sox late in the season. He played one season for them before being traded to the Yankees for Hal Chase. He hit just .130 in New York and was released. In 1914, he played in the Pacific Coast League.

1915 was Borton’s only full major league campaign, and he made it count. With the St. Louis Terriers, he led the Federal League in walks (92) and runs scored (97) and was fourth in on-base percentage (.395).

 After the season, the Federal League folded, and Borton was purchased by the American League’s Browns. He hit just .224 in 1916 and never played in the majors again. From 1917 to 1920, he played in the Pacific Coast League. He batted .303 in 1919, as his team – the Vernon Tigers – won the pennant. In 1920, he was batting .326 late in the season when he was suspended.

It should be noted that in May of 1919, the Vernon Tigers team was purchased by the silent film superstar Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. Admittedly, Arbuckle knew little about running a ball team, yet they still managed to win the 1919 pennant in spite of that fact.

In July 1920, Borton had tried to bribe an opposing pitcher into throwing a game. As details in the scandal emerged, it was discovered that he and some Vernon teammates had also bribed opponents in 1919 to throw the pennant to the Tigers. Borton was eventually cleared of any criminal charges in December, but along with Harl Maggert, Gene Dale, and Bill Rumler, Borton was expelled from the Pacific Coast League.

Borton never played in organized baseball after 1920. He later worked for Standard Oil until his death on July 29, 1954 at the age of 65 in Alameda, California. He is interred at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California.

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 178   Batted: Left     Threw: Left
MLB Debut: September 2, 1912 for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB Appearance: September 10, 1916 for the St. Louis Browns

Career Statistics:
Batting Average: .270
Runs Scored: 139
Runs Batted In: 136

Teams:
Chicago White Sox (1912-1913)
New York Yankees (1913)
St. Louis Terriors (1915)
St. Louis Browns (1916)

Career Highlights and Awards:
Led Federal League in runs scored: 1915

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(Photos and data from Wikipedia; 1905 Souvenir History, WCHS; www.sportshollywood; Federal Census Records; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 07/11/2013. Revised 3/9/2024)