Bill Campbell

[William Malone]

William Richard Campbell was born on August 9, 1948 in Highland Park, Michigan.

The Minnesota Twins signed him as an amateur free agent out of Mount San Antonio College in 1971. He rose rapidly through their minor league system, and debuted at the big league level in 1973. Campbell made 28 appearances as a rookie, pitching to a 3.14 ERA and recording seven saves.

Campbell made his first Opening Day roster in 1974, and was a workhorse in high leverage long relief. He pitched 120.1 innings across 63 relief appearances that season, leading the Twins with 19 saves. Six of those saves required nine or more outs from Campbell. His most heroic outing of the season came on August 8th when he logged seven innings in relief against the Kansas City Royals, helping Minnesota register a 3-2 victory in 14 innings.

The Twins used Campbell briefly as a starter in 1975. He finished the year with a 3.79 ERA over 121.0 innings, making seven starts and 40 relief appearances. They moved him back to a full time bullpen role in 1976, putting him out there for a career high 167.2 innings in a league leading 78 relief appearances. Campbell pitched five or more innings six times that season, and three or more innings on 23 occasions. He had 20 saves and a 3.01 ERA, finishing seventh place in the AL Cy Young voting.

Campbell became a free agent after the 1976 season, signing a five year deal with the Boston Red Sox. He had a 2.96 ERA and led the American League with 31 saves in 1977, finishing fifth place in the AL Cy Young voting. Arm issues started to pop up after that, limiting his effectiveness and ability to carry a massive workload out of the bullpen. Campbell had a 4.02 ERA over the final four years of his deal with the Red Sox, never pitching more than 55 innings in a single season.

After leaving Boston, he pitched six more Major League seasons for five different clubs; the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos. Campbell temporarily got back to his workhorse ways with the Cubs, logging 122.1 innings out of the bullpen in 1983. But he wasn't nearly as effective, owning a 4.49 ERA that season.

He was one of several former players to run into post-career financial difficulties due to poor investments made by sports agent LaRue Harcourt. Campbell held a marketing job after retirement, and then began serving as a minor league coach in the Milwaukee Brewers system during the mid-1990's. The Brewers promoted him to the big league staff in 1999, but he was fired after one season. Campbell worked a few more years as a minor league coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, then retired from baseball. He passed away in 2023 at the age of 74.

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