Bill Bradford
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1956)
Bill Bradford was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball in 1956 for the Kansas City Athletics. Across 1 career appearance, he went 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 180 lb
- Died
- 8/22/2000 in Fairfield Bay, AR, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1956-04-24
Full name: William D. Bradford
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 77.0 | 68.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .221 | .274 | .309 | .583 |
| 1939 | 137.0 | 118.0 | 12.0 | 23.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 16.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | .195 | .289 | .254 | .543 |
| 1940 | 111.0 | 104.0 | 12.0 | 27.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 2.0 | .260 | .294 | .327 | .621 |
| 1941 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .300 | .222 | .522 |
| 1942 | 87.0 | 81.0 | 10.0 | 20.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 2.0 | .247 | .291 | .296 | .587 |
| 1943 | 96.0 | 86.0 | 7.0 | 18.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .209 | .277 | .256 | .533 |
| 1945 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Listed seasons · 7 | 521 | 469 | 46 | 105 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 38 | 4 | 9 | .224 | — | — | — |
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | KC1 | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | KC1 | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-24 | KC1 | DET | — | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
Bill Bradford: the record in brief
Bill Bradford's entire major league record comes from the period beginning April 24, 1956. The team column never changes: it is the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. Bradford, born on August 28, 1921, in Choctaw, AR, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 2 inches and 180 pounds. Bradford's death is recorded on August 22, 2000, in Fairfield Bay, AR, USA. On the record, Bill Bradford was born William D. Bradford.
Bradford pitched in 1 games, starting 0, and finished with a 0-0 record and 9.00 ERA. Against a 3.96 league ERA for the same seasons, the 9.00 mark was 127.0% worse. All of that pitching came in 1956, with 1 games and 0 strikeouts.
Bradford's separate Negro Leagues table shows a .224 average on 105 hits. That section also lists 1 home runs and 28 RBI. Those Negro Leagues figures come from surviving box scores and are shown in their own table, apart from the season rows.
The position breakdown shows 1 games, all at pitcher.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Bradford
- Was Bill Bradford a pitcher?
- Yes. Bill Bradford pitched in the major leagues, recording 0 wins and 0 strikeouts.
- What teams did Bill Bradford play for?
- Bill Bradford played for one team, the Kansas City Athletics (1956).
- What were Bill Bradford's career stats?
- In 1 game, Bill Bradford went 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA, 0 strikeouts, and 2.0 innings pitched.
- What position did Bill Bradford play?
- Bill Bradford played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bill Bradford and how much did he weigh?
- Bill Bradford was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds.
- What was Bill Bradford's career ERA?
- Bill Bradford finished with a 9.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Bill Bradford have?
- Bill Bradford recorded 0 career strikeouts.
- Is Bill Bradford in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bill Bradford has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.