added 04/29/2019 by Darrell Pittman

The Houston baseball community lost a giant Saturday morning when Dr. William Oscar "Bill" McCurdy III passed away. He had been hospitalized for three weeks and was being prepared for hospice care when he passed at the age of 81.

He is survived by his wife Norma, son Casey, and brother John.

Bill's knowledge of baseball history was encyclopedic, and his love of the game unbounded. He was a psychologist by trade, which interested him in the human side of baseball, not just the dates, facts and statistics.

Bill was born in Beeville, Texas on December 31, 1937 to William O. McCurdy, Jr. and the former Doris Tease. His grandfather, William O. McCurdy, Sr., had been the publisher and editor of the Beeville Bee.

In the 1940s, the family moved to the southeast Houston neighborhood of Pecan Park, just a stone's throw from Buff Stadium. He became a member of the "Knothole Gang", kids who watched the games through the ballpark's fence.

He and the kids in his neighborhood formed a sandlot baseball team they called the Pecan Park Eagles. Bill later wrote many stories of the team's exploits in his blog, named, appropriately, the "Pecan Park Eagle".

One of Bill's childhood heroes was lantern-jawed Houston Buffs first baseman Jerry Witte, who had brief cups of coffee in the majors in 1946-47 with the St. Louis Browns. In 2003, Bill wrote a book called A Kid from St. Louis: Jerry Witte's Life in Baseball, based on his tape-recorded interviews with Witte.

Bill also co-wrote his friend Jim Wynn's autobiography, Toy Cannon: The Autobiography of Baseball's Jimmy Wynn, published in 2010.

In 2012, Bill conceived the idea for and led the effort to produce Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961 for the 2014 national convention of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) which was held that year in Houston. He had been an active member of Houston's Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR for many years.

Bill was a soft-spoken gentleman of the old school, a man for all seasons. My first encounter with Bill was when I consulted him while writing one of my first articles for this website about the Houston Buffs back in 2003, since he was the go-to authority on Buffs history. Even though he was busy at the time writing A Kid from St. Louis, he was generous with his time, warm, and encouraging. We started going to one or two Astros games each year, and spoke often on the phone. I shall always be grateful that I was lucky enough to know him.

I encourage you to check out Bill’s blog, the "Pecan Park Eagle". He posted over a thousand articles there covering most every subject under the sun, but he always came back to baseball.

Rest in peace, Bill. You will be missed.

Ave atque vale.

Services will be held at:

Forest Park Lawndale
6900 Lawndale Ave.
Houston, TX 77023

Visitation – Sun. May 5th, Colonial Chapel from 5-7:30pm.
Rosary – Sun. May 5th, Colonial Chapel at 7:30pm.
Funeral Mass – Mon. May 6th, Colonial Chapel at 11am.