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  • Bill Campbell

    Birth Date: 08/08/1948
    Deceased: 01/05/2023

    Bill Campbell Autograph

    Bill Campbell's Autograph

    Bill Campbell Bio

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    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.

    Notable Events & Trivia

    • 1977 All-Star
    • 1977 AL saves leader (31)

    Bill Campbell Statistics

    Standard Pitching Table
    Season Age Team Lg WAR W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/BB Awards
    1973 24 MIN AL 0.8 3 3 .500 3.14 28 2 20 0 0 7 51.2 44 20 18 5 20 1 42 1 0 2 218 127 3.42 1.239 7.7 0.9 3.5 7.3 2.10  
    1974 25 MIN AL 3.9 8 7 .533 2.62 63 0 55 0 0 19 120.1 109 37 35 4 55 4 89 2 1 5 514 145 2.95 1.363 8.2 0.3 4.1 6.7 1.62  
    1975 26 MIN AL 1.0 4 6 .400 3.79 47 7 28 2 1 5 121.0 119 58 51 13 46 2 76 2 0 3 512 102 3.92 1.364 8.9 1.0 3.4 5.7 1.65  
    1976 27 MIN AL 1.9 17 5 .773 3.01 78 0 68 0 0 20 167.2 145 63 56 9 62 11 115 5 0 7 703 120 3.16 1.235 7.8 0.5 3.3 6.2 1.85 CYA-7,MVP-8
    1977 28 BOS AL 4.7 13 9 .591 2.96 69 0 60 0 0 31 140.0 112 48 46 13 60 10 114 5 1 3 583 153 3.71 1.229 7.2 0.8 3.9 7.3 1.90 AS,CYA-5,MVP-10
    1978 29 BOS AL 0.2 7 5 .583 3.91 29 0 20 0 0 4 50.2 62 25 22 3 17 3 47 0 1 1 226 107 2.51 1.559 11.0 0.5 3.0 8.3 2.76  
    1979 30 BOS AL 0.2 3 4 .429 4.28 41 0 23 0 0 9 54.2 55 28 26 5 23 6 25 1 0 7 239 104 4.32 1.427 9.1 0.8 3.8 4.1 1.09  
    1980 31 BOS AL -0.1 4 0 1.000 4.79 23 0 11 0 0 0 41.1 44 26 22 1 22 0 17 0 0 3 180 89 3.84 1.597 9.6 0.2 4.8 3.7 0.77  
    1981 32 BOS AL 0.2 1 1 .500 3.17 30 0 23 0 0 7 48.1 45 23 17 5 20 4 37 0 0 2 208 124 3.66 1.345 8.4 0.9 3.7 6.9 1.85  
    1982 33 CHC NL 0.8 3 6 .333 3.69 62 0 39 0 0 8 100.0 89 44 41 6 40 13 71 0 1 3 421 101 3.28 1.290 8.0 0.5 3.6 6.4 1.78  
    1983 34 CHC NL -0.2 6 8 .429 4.49 82 0 46 0 0 8 122.1 128 65 61 4 49 18 97 1 1 6 530 85 2.82 1.447 9.4 0.3 3.6 7.1 1.98  
    1984 35 PHI NL -0.3 6 5 .545 3.43 57 0 24 0 0 1 81.1 68 43 31 2 35 13 52 0 1 3 351 106 3.10 1.266 7.5 0.2 3.9 5.8 1.49  
    1985 36 STL NL -0.4 5 3 .625 3.50 50 0 18 0 0 4 64.1 55 32 25 5 21 9 41 2 0 1 270 103 3.49 1.181 7.7 0.7 2.9 5.7 1.95  
    1986 37 DET AL 0.2 3 6 .333 3.88 34 0 19 0 0 3 55.2 46 26 24 5 21 5 37 1 0 1 229 108 3.79 1.204 7.4 0.8 3.4 6.0 1.76  
    1987 38 MON NL -0.5 0 0   8.10 7 0 1 0 0 0 10.0 18 12 9 2 4 1 4 0 0 0 55 54 5.87 2.200 16.2 1.8 3.6 3.6 1.00  
    15 Yrs 12.4 83 68 .550 3.54 700 9 455 2 1 126 1229.1 1139 550 484 82 495 100 864 20 6 47 5239 111 3.39 1.329 8.3 0.6 3.6 6.3 1.75  
    162 Game Avg 1.2 8 7 .550 3.54 67 1 44 0 0 12 118 109 53 46 8 47 10 83 2 1 5 502 111 3.39 1.329 8.3 0.6 3.6 6.3 1.75  
                                                                     
    BOS (5 Yrs) 5.2 28 19 .596 3.57 192 0 137 0 0 51 335.0 318 150 133 27 142 23 240 6 2 16 1436 122 3.64 1.373 8.5 0.7 3.8 6.4 1.69  
    MIN (4 Yrs) 7.5 32 21 .604 3.13 216 9 171 2 1 51 460.2 417 178 160 31 183 18 322 10 1 17 1947 120 3.33 1.302 8.1 0.6 3.6 6.3 1.76  
    CHC (2 Yrs) 0.6 9 14 .391 4.13 144 0 85 0 0 16 222.1 217 109 102 10 89 31 168 1 2 9 951 91 3.03 1.376 8.8 0.4 3.6 6.8 1.89  
    PHI (1 Yr) -0.3 6 5 .545 3.43 57 0 24 0 0 1 81.1 68 43 31 2 35 13 52 0 1 3 351 106 3.10 1.266 7.5 0.2 3.9 5.8 1.49  
    STL (1 Yr) -0.4 5 3 .625 3.50 50 0 18 0 0 4 64.1 55 32 25 5 21 9 41 2 0 1 270 103 3.49 1.181 7.7 0.7 2.9 5.7 1.95  
    DET (1 Yr) 0.2 3 6 .333 3.88 34 0 19 0 0 3 55.2 46 26 24 5 21 5 37 1 0 1 229 108 3.79 1.204 7.4 0.8 3.4 6.0 1.76  
    MON (1 Yr) -0.5 0 0   8.10 7 0 1 0 0 0 10.0 18 12 9 2 4 1 4 0 0 0 55 54 5.87 2.200 16.2 1.8 3.6 3.6 1.00  
                                                                     
    AL (10 Yrs) 12.9 63 46 .578 3.35 442 9 327 2 1 105 851.1 781 354 317 63 346 46 599 17 3 34 3612 120 3.48 1.324 8.3 0.7 3.7 6.3 1.73  
    NL (5 Yrs) -0.5 20 22 .476 3.98 258 0 128 0 0 21 378.0 358 196 167 19 149 54 265 3 3 13 1627 94 3.20 1.341 8.5 0.5 3.5 6.3 1.78  
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
    Generated 4/13/2025.

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    Page Creator:

    William Malone

    Other Contributors:

    Brock Beauchamp

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