page_title: Bill Rapps
hierarchical_section_title: Bill Rapps
caption_attribution_description: English: Professional baseball player Bill Rapps
context_page_description: William Herman "Bill" Rapps was a professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 consecutive seasons—1903 to 1917—in Minor League Baseball. He was known by several nicknames over his career, the most frequent being "Roaring Bill" for his boisterous on-field performance. Over his career, he played a number of positions, the most frequent being outfield and first base. In 1907, he was moved to second base and in 1914 became a backup catcher.
  Rapps never made it to the highest level of professional baseball, which several sources throughout his career attributed to his behavior and lackadaisical play. In 1906, the Leavenworth Post wrote that Rapps had a "sulking disposition" and shortly thereafter he was sold from the team. The Topeka State Journal noted in 1907 that Rapps was often "accused of being a follower of a vaudeville circuit". He briefly tempered his clownish behavior, but in 1908 he started up again.
  Rapps joined the Portland Beavers in 1910, but was sold from the club after three seasons. The end of his tenure in Portland culminated in a public feud with team manager Walt McCredie, who accused Rapps of under-performing in 1912 because he was not made team captain.
context_section_description: William Herman "Bill" Rapps (February 1, 1881 – April 20, 1965) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 consecutive seasons—1903 to 1917—in Minor League Baseball. He was known by several nicknames over his career, the most frequent being "Roaring Bill" for his boisterous on-field performance. Over his career, he played a number of positions, the most frequent being outfield and first base. In 1907, he was moved to second base and in 1914 became a backup catcher.
  Rapps never made it to the highest level of professional baseball, which several sources throughout his career attributed to his behavior and lackadaisical play. In 1906, the Leavenworth Post wrote that Rapps had a "sulking disposition" and shortly thereafter he was sold from the team. The Topeka State Journal  noted in 1907 that Rapps was often "accused of being a follower of a vaudeville circuit". He briefly tempered his clownish behavior, but in 1908 he started up again. 
  Rapps joined the Portland Beavers in 1910, but was sold from the club after three seasons. The end of his tenure in Portland culminated in a public feud with team manager Walt McCredie, who accused Rapps of under-performing in 1912 because he was not made team captain. Rapps was sold by Portland to the Topeka Jayhawks in 1913 and the following year won the House Cup, which was given to the most valuable Topeka player. Rapps retired in 1917 after last playing for the Charles City Tractorites. Following his retirement, Rapps worked on his farm and operated grocery and feed stores in Schell City, Missouri and Iola, Kansas.
caption: Rapps in 1911
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