Major League Baseball Player, Umpire. He played Major League baseball as a pitcher for twelve seasons (1898 to 1909) with the Washington Nationals, Boston Beaneaters (Braves), Boston Pilgrims (Red Sox), and St. Louis Browns. Arriving in the big leagues in 1898, he pitched two fairly poor years with the Washington National League team, losing 20 Games in 1899. In February 1900 the team sold off most of its better players and disbanded (another team would return a few years later as the American League Washington Senators). Bill Dineen was sent to the Boston Beaneaters (Braves), and he matured into a fine pitcher, winning 20 games for the team in 1900. In 1902, at the advent of the American League, he crossed over to the League's Boston team, signing with the Pilgrims (Red Sox), with whom he would excel. Over the next three years he would post a win-loss record of 65-48, and help the Boston clinch the American League Pennant in 1903. That year saw the inaugural Baseball World Series, as the Fall Classic is implemented to decide the champion of Baseball. Boston faced the Honus Wagner-led National League Champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best of 9 contest, and despite the presence of the legendary Cy Young in the Boston line-up, Big Bill Dineen proved to be the hero of the Series. After Pittsburgh defeated Cy Young in Game 1, Bill Dineen evened the Series (backed by Patsy Dougherty's two home runs) with a Game 2 three-hit shut out. He dropped game 4 to the Pirates, which gave Pittsburgh a 3 Games to 1 lead. However, over the course of the next 4 games, he would prove to a pitching stalwart, winning Game 6 by a 6 to 3 score, and clinching Baseball's very first Title for Boston with a masterful, four-hit Game 8 shutout. After a successful 20+ win 1904 season, his arm started to go dead on him, and his effectiveness decline. Along the way, however, he managed to pitch a 2-0 No-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on September 27, 1905. After a 0-4 start to the 1907 season, Boston sent him to the Brown. He relived flashes of his former glory in 1908, winning 14 and losing only 7 for St. Louis, but it was his last full year in the Majors. In September 1909, having won 6 and lost 7, the Browns released him, and he ended his playing days, but not his career in Major League baseball. Following a trend for that era, he became an American League umpire, a position he would hold for 29 years. Over the course of his umpiring years he would work 45 World Series games, get into two famous confrontations with Babe Ruth in 1922, and be awarded prizes in the 1930s for having the lowest average game times. His career pitching totals were 170 wins, 177 losses, 391 games pitched, 306 complete games, 24 shutouts, 1,127 strikeouts and a career 3.01 earned run average.