1948
Born August 9, 1948
Highland Park, MI, USA
Bill Campbell Marquee
b. August 9, 1948 · Minnesota Twins 1973–1976, Boston Red Sox 1977–1981, Chicago Cubs 1982–1983, Philadelphia Phillies 1984, St. Louis Cardinals 1985, Detroit Tigers 1986, Montreal Expos 1987
In 1976, for Minnesota, he appeared in 78 games and finished 17-5 with 20 saves and a 3.01 earned run average, which is a workload nobody would now attempt. He was paid $23,000 that season. Boston signed him that winter, in the first free-agent class, for a million dollars over five years.
He earned it immediately: 13-9 with 31 saves and a 2.96 earned run average in 1977, leading the American League in saves and finishing fifth in the Cy Young voting. Then the arm went, as arms did after 140 innings of relief in two years, and he was never the same.
Fifteen seasons gave him 126 saves, 83 wins and a 3.54 earned run average across 1,229 innings and 700 games. He was Fireman of the Year twice. The 1993 ballot gave him one vote of 423. He died in 2023, at seventy-four.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1977 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 2 | 1976, 1977 |
| The Sporting News Fireman of the Year | 2 | 1976, 1977 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1974 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | MIN | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | MIN | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | MIN | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1976 | MIN | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | BOS | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | BOS | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | BOS | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | BOS | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | BOS | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | CHC | 62 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .143 |
| 1983 | CHC | 82 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .100 |
| 1984 | PHI | 57 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1985 | STL | 50 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| 1986 | DET | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | MON | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 700 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .154 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | MIN | 3 | 3 | 28 | 2 | 7 | 51.2 | 44 | 18 | 20 | 42 | 3.14 |
| 1974 | MIN | 8 | 7 | 63 | 0 | 19 | 120.1 | 109 | 35 | 55 | 89 | 2.62 |
| 1975 | MIN | 4 | 6 | 47 | 7 | 5 | 121.0 | 119 | 51 | 46 | 76 | 3.79 |
| 1976 | MIN | 17 | 5 | 78 | 0 | 20 | 167.2 | 145 | 56 | 62 | 115 | 3.01 |
| 1977 | BOS | 13 | 9 | 69 | 0 | 31 | 140.0 | 112 | 46 | 60 | 114 | 2.96 |
| 1978 | BOS | 7 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 50.2 | 62 | 22 | 17 | 47 | 3.91 |
| 1979 | BOS | 3 | 4 | 41 | 0 | 9 | 54.2 | 55 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 4.28 |
| 1980 | BOS | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 41.1 | 44 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 4.79 |
| 1981 | BOS | 1 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 48.1 | 45 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 3.17 |
| 1982 | CHC | 3 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 8 | 100.0 | 89 | 41 | 40 | 71 | 3.69 |
| 1983 | CHC | 6 | 8 | 82 | 0 | 8 | 122.1 | 128 | 61 | 49 | 97 | 4.49 |
| 1984 | PHI | 6 | 5 | 57 | 0 | 1 | 81.1 | 68 | 31 | 35 | 52 | 3.43 |
| 1985 | STL | 5 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 4 | 64.1 | 55 | 25 | 21 | 41 | 3.50 |
| 1986 | DET | 3 | 6 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 55.2 | 46 | 24 | 21 | 37 | 3.88 |
| 1987 | MON | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8.10 |
| Career | — | 83 | 68 | 700 | 9 | 126 | 1229.1 | 1139 | 484 | 495 | 864 | 3.54 |
On this day & linked events
2023
Died January 6, 2023
1973
Major-league debut: Bill Campbell
Bill Campbell made a major-league debut on July 14, 1973.
1987
Final major-league game: Bill Campbell
Bill Campbell played a final major-league game on April 30, 1987.
Image: Boston Red Sox, public domain