General Lee was a 6'3" Louisianan whose extremely high leg kick deceived batters and gave his fastball added speed. He was buried in the Cardinals system despite a 71-31 record over four seasons. Branch Rickey made a choice between Paul Dean and Lee in 1934, bringing Dean to the majors and selling Lee to the Cubs. Lee shut out the Phillies in his first ML start (5/7/34). In his sophomore season, 1935, he led the NL with a .769 winning percentage (20-6), recorded five victories during the Cubs' 21-game winning streak, and won the pennant clincher.

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Lee was positively intimidating in 1938, helping the Cubs to another World Series by leading the league with 22 wins, a .710 winning percentage, a 2.66 ERA, 37 starts, and nine shutouts. During one period he reeled off 32 consecutive scoreless innings and yielded only one run in 47 innings; the lone run was driven in by a pitcher and prevented Lee from hurling five straight shutouts. In September he racked up a streak of 37-1/3 scoreless innings, which included a flawless relief job between four shutouts.

Lee lost his touch in 1940. His eyes began to fail, and he had trouble seeing his catcher's signals. The high point of his 8-14 season in 1941 came on May 7, when he hit two home runs in a game. With the help of eyeglasses, he went 13-13 in 1942, then bounced from team to team, twice winning 10 games. After he retired, he underwent delicate surgery for two detached retinas and eventually lost his sight. (DB)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 7, 1934: The Cubs Bill Lee makes his first major-league start, stopping the Phillies, 2–0. » May 17, 1934: In his first game in Philadelphia since the Phillies traded him to the Cubs, Chuck Klein hits two home runs to pace first-place Chicago to a 10–3 win. Gabby Hartnett adds another as Chicago pounds four hurlers for twenty hits. Kiki Cuyler and Dolph Camilli have four apiece to back the five hitting pitching of Bill Lee and Pat Malone. Malone gets credit for the win. » June 30, 1934: On 25th anniversary of Forbes Field, a granite monument to Braney Dreyfuss to the left of the exit gate before the start of the Cubs-Pirates match. The Windy City squad wins, 4–2, behind Bill Lee, the 8th straight win for the Cubs. » June 15, 1935: The Cubs rattle 18 hits off four Brooklyn pitchers to win, 9–4. Bill Lee allows no earned runs in the victory. Stan Hack is 4-for-4 + getting hit with a pitch; he had three straight hits to end yesterday, giving him seven straight. Rookie Ken O'Dea belts a 3-run homer. » September 2, 1935: With the Cubs splitting two with the 7th-place Reds at Wrigley, Chicago is just two 1/2 in back of the Cards. Chicago wins 31 in the opener as Lon Warneke tops Tony Freitas, then lose 4–2 to Gene Schott. Bill Lee takes the loss. » September 7, 1935: Bill Lee shuts out the Phils 4–0 for his 16th win of the season, as the Cubs move into 2nd place ahead of the Giants. Augie Galan continues his hitting for the Cubs, driving in two runs. » September 11, 1935: The rampaging Cubs beat the lowly Braves, 15–3. Bill Lee coasts to the win. » September 27, 1935: The Cubs clinch the NL pennant in the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals, 6–2, besting Dizzy Dean, as Bill Lee wins his 20th. The Cubs tally 15 hits off Diz, led by Freddie Lindstrom's 4. With Roy Henshaw's victory, 5–3, in the nitecap, the Cubs extend their win streak to an incredible 21 games and reach the 100-win mark. Only once during the winning tsreak have the Cubs pitchers given up more than three runs. The streak ties the franchise mark set in 1880. » October 6, 1935: Lon Warneke keeps the Cubs alive with 6 innings of shutout ball for his 2nd win. Bill Lee relieves in the 2-1 victory. » July 13, 1936: Bill Lee wins a 1–0 duel from Carl Hubbell, as the Cubs move into first place. It is the last game the Giant ace will lose in 1936; he will win his next 16 decisions. » May 19, 1938: Cubs pitcher Bill Lee shuts out the Giants on five hits to win, 1–0, in 10 innings. Lee scores the winning run to beat starter Harry Gumbert. » May 23, 1938: The Cubs Bill Lee tops the Braves, 4–1, as the Braves score their only tally in the 4th when pitcher Lou Fette drives in the run. This is the only run that Lee will allow in 47 straight innings going back to the 19th, when he tossed a shutout. He will shut out Pirates, 5–0, on May 27, the Reds, 3–0 on May 30, and the Braves, 4–0, on June 3. » June 3, 1938: Bill Lee of the Cubs blanks the Boston Bees, 4–0, for his 3rd straight shutout, and Chicago moves to within one 1/2 games of the Giants, who lose their 4th straight to the Pirates. Lee will run his string to 32 scoreless innings, and pitch 47 straight innings in which he allows one unearned run and one extra base hits. » June 23, 1938: The Cubs sweep two at home against the Giants, winning 7–4 and 3–1. Bill Lee is the victor in the opener, topping Harry Gumbert, while Dizzy Dean bests Hal Schumacher in game 2. » September 22, 1938: Bill Lee of the Cubs pitches his 4th consecutive shutout, matching the feat of Ed Reulbach (1908) and Grover Alexander (1911). » September 27, 1938: With the Pirates 11Ž2 game up on the Cubs, Dizzy Dean shuts out the Bucs for 8 innings. In the 9th Bill Lee relieves Dean, and the Cubs win 2-1. » November 1, 1938: National League batting champ Ernie Lombardi is named MVP by the BBWAA. Chicago P Bill Lee is runner-up. » June 11, 1940: In the 2nd of two, Paul Dean debuts with the Giants and beats the Cubs, 3–1, on four hits. Joe Moore runs his hitting streak to 14 games when he belts an 8th inning homer off Claude Passeau. The Giants win the opener 4–0 behind Bill Lohrman to pull within one 1/2 games of the Reds and Dodgers. Bill Lee is the losing Cubs hurler in that one. » May 7, 1941: At Philadelphia, Cubs pitcher Bill Lee cracks a pair of homers while pitching Chicago to an 11–2 win over the Phils. Bill Crouch takes the loss. » June 16, 1944: Whit Wyatt wins his first game of the year as the Dodgers beat the Phillies 4-3. Phils P Bill Lee takes a one-hitter into the ninth inning but loses the game on two errors. » May 31, 1988: Jeff Pico throws a 4-hit shutout against the Reds to win his ML debut with the Cubs 4–0. He is the first Cubs pitcher to debut with a shut out since Bill Lee in 1934.