William Frederick "Bones" Ely (June 7, 1863 – January 10, 1952) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He was born in North Girard, Pennsylvania. Ely was the starting shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates for several seasons before Honus Wagner. Immediately before his release during the 1901 season, an article in The Buffalo Enquirer described the only thing standing between Wagner and Pittsburgh's shortstop job was "Bones Ely, who has gone back faster than an incline car that has slipped a cable. Ely cannot hit a balloon and his fielding is passe."