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.

For the politician, see William Disch.
Billy Disch
Disch in 1915
Biographical details
Born(1872-10-15)October 15, 1872
Benton County, Missouri, U.S.
DiedFebruary 3, 1953(1953-02-03) (aged 80)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Baseball
1902–1908St. Edward's
1911–1939Texas
Football
c. 1902St. Edward's
1910St. Edward's
Head coaching record
Overall515–140–12 (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

Career

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
  • In 1947, Disch Field at the University of Texas named for him. Today, the university 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

College baseball

The records shown below are only the collegiate record, not the overall record against non-collegiate teams.

Statistics overview
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 24–4–21st
1914 Texas 28–41st
Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1915–1939)
1915 Texas 22–412–21st
1916 Texas 16–610–31st
1917 Texas 12–24–11st
1918 Texas 17–18–11st
1919 Texas 20–1–112–01st
1920 Texas 17–59–21st
1921 Texas 15–3–19–2–11st
1922 Texas 16–5–110–3–11st
1923 Texas 16–810–82nd
1924 Texas 28–122–11st
1925 Texas 16–4–111–2–11st
1926 Texas 13–28–21st
1927 Texas 16–416–41st
1928 Texas 17–416–41st
1929 Texas 18–4–116–4–11st
1930 Texas 20–416–41st
1931 Texas 10–28–22nd
1932 Texas 11–511–51st
1933 Texas 13–38–22nd
1934 Texas 8–57–52nd
1935 Texas 11–39–31st
1936 Texas 12–212–11st
1937 Texas 11–610–52nd
1938 Texas 12–412–21st
1939 Texas 16–215–01st
Texas: 465–115–9 (.797)284–70–4 (.799)
Total:515–140–12 (.781)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "Disch-Falk Field History". Texassports.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
  2. "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. "1911 Southwest Texas League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. "1911 Southwest Texas League (STL) minor league baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  5. "Billy Disch Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., 1948 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book. St. Louis: The Sporting News
  7. "TSHA | Disch, William John". www.tshaonline.org.
  8. "St. Edward's Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Hilltopper Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  9. "Texas Baseball History 2018 Fact Book" (PDF). Texas Sports. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
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