William Frederick Dahlen (January 5, 1870 – December 5, 1950), nicknamed "Bad Bill", was an American shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for four National League teams from to . After twice batting over .350 for the Chicago Colts, he starred on championship teams with the Brooklyn Superbas and the New York Giants, winning four National League pennants and one World Series title.
At the end of his career, he held the major league record for career games played (2,443); he ranked second in walks (1,064, behind Billy Hamilton's 1,187) and fifth in at bats (9,033), and was among the top ten in runs batted in (1,234), doubles (414) and extra base hits (661). He was also among the NL's top seven players in hits (2,461; some sources list totals up to 2,471), runs (1,589), triples (163) and total bases (3,447). After leading the league in assists four times and double plays three times, he set major league records for career games (2,132), putouts (4,850), assists (7,500), total chances (13,325) and double plays (881) as a shortstop; he still holds the record for total chances, and is second in putouts and fourth in assists. His 42-game hitting streak in was a record until , and remains the fourth longest in history and the longest by a right-handed NL hitter. In defensive wins above replacement (WAR), his 28.5 is eleventh best all-time, and he finished in the top five in the category in ten different seasons.
Early life
thumb|left|[[Baseball card of Bill Dahlen, T206 set.]]
Dahlen was born in Nelliston, New York at the corner of Berthoud and Dahlen and East Main to a family of German descent.
Managerial career
As early as 1908, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets sought to have Dahlen manage his club, though he was unable to achieve this until the 1910 season.
Later years and death
Dahlen worked a number of jobs after his baseball career ended, including serving as an attendant at Yankee Stadium and working as a night clerk in a Brooklyn post office. He was included again on the newly formed Pre-Integration Committee's ballot for 2013. Dahlen received ten out of sixteen votes, falling two votes short of election, the highest total of any person on the ballot who was not elected. Dahlen was included again on the Pre-Integration Committee's 2016 ballot but the committee selected no new Hall of Fame members as Dahlen tied for second place with eight of sixteen votes. Dahlen was considered again by the newly formed Early Baseball Era Committee for the 2022 ballot but received three or fewer of the committee's sixteen votes. According to Baseball-Reference, Dahlen has the most career Wins Above Replacement of any position player not already inducted with the exception of players who either aren't yet eligible or are held back by a scandal.
The Nineteenth Century Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research named Dahlen the Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2012—a 19th-century player, manager, executive or other baseball personality not yet inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.