What years did Billy Campbell play?

Billy Campbell played in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1909.

Was Billy Campbell a pitcher?

Yes. Billy Campbell pitched in the major leagues, recording 23 wins and 116 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Billy Campbell hit?

Billy Campbell hit 0 career home runs with 15 hits.

What was Billy Campbell's career batting average?

Billy Campbell batted .115 over his career, with 15 hits in 130 at bats.

How many RBI did Billy Campbell have?

Billy Campbell drove in 5 runs in his career.

What was Billy Campbell's career ERA?

Billy Campbell finished with a 2.80 career ERA, going 23-25 with 116 strikeouts.

Billy Campbell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1905-1909)

Billy Campbell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1909 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 5 seasons. Across 70 career appearances, he went 23-25 with a 2.80 ERA and 116 strikeouts.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 23–25

ERA 2.80

WHIP 1.24

SO 116

Pitcher PIV -653.1

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 165 lb
Born: 11/5/1873 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died: 10/6/1957 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1905-04-17
Last Game: 1909-08-23

Full name: William James Campbell

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Career Pitching Statistics

Billy Campbell — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
23	25	70	44	31	2	4	407.2	411	127	3	93	116	2.80	-653.1

Career ERA 2.80 vs. league average 2.56 across their career seasons — 9.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Campbell — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1905	SLN	NL	1	1	2	2	2	0	0	17.0	27	14	7	2	7.41	2.82 (-163%)	-299.9
1907	CIN	NL	3	0	3	3	3	0	0	21.0	19	5	3	4	2.14	2.50 (+14%)	143.8
1908	CIN	NL	12	13	35	24	19	2	2	221.1	203	64	44	73	2.60	2.40 (-8%)	121.4
1909	CIN	NL	7	11	30	15	7	0	2	148.1	162	44	39	37	2.67	2.55 (-5%)	-618.4
Career · 4 seasons			23	25	70	44	31	2	4	407.2	411	127	93	116	2.80	—	-653

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.

Career Batting Statistics

Billy Campbell — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
70	130	4	15	1	2	0	5	1	4	21	.115	.148	.154	.302	-589

Career AVG .115 vs. league average .245 across their career seasons — 52.8% below league average.

Career OBP .148 vs. league average .304 across their career seasons — 51.3% below league average.

Career SLG .154 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — 50.8% below league average.

Career OPS .302 vs. league average .617 across their career seasons — 51.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Campbell — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1905	SLN	NL	2	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1907	CIN	NL	3	8	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	4	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1908	CIN	NL	35	72	1	6	0	1	3	0	3	10	.083	.240 (-65%)	.298 (-56%)	.306 (-64%)	.605 (-60%)	-589.4
1909	CIN	NL	30	43	1	6	1	1	1	1	1	7	.140	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 4 seasons			70	130	4	15	1	2	5	1	4	21	.115	—	—	—	—	-589

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

View full game log (140 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Billy Campbell — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	37	66	3	10	0	1	.152
Away	33	64	1	5	0	3	.078

Pitching — Home / Away

Billy Campbell — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	37	206.1	197	5	42	65	0.22
Away	33	201.2	214	24	52	51	1.07

Last 10 Games — Batting

Billy Campbell — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	BB	SO
1909-08-23	CIN	NY1	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1909-08-17	CIN	CHC	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1909-08-07	CIN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1909-08-03	CIN	NY1	L	3	0	1	0	0	1
1909-08-01	CIN	BRO	L	1	1	1	1	0	0
1909-07-28	CIN	PIT	L	2	0	0	0	0	0
1909-07-24	CIN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1909-07-21	CIN	BSN	L	1	0	1	0	0	0
1909-07-17	CIN	BSN	L	1	0	0	0	1	1
1909-07-13	CIN	NY1	L	3	0	0	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Billy Campbell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1909-08-23	CIN	NY1	—	0.2	3	3	0	2	1
1909-08-17	CIN	CHC	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
1909-08-07	CIN	PHI	L	1.0	1	1	0	0	0
1909-08-03	CIN	NY1	L	6.1	9	5	0	1	4
1909-08-01	CIN	BRO	L	2.2	2	1	0	0	0
1909-07-28	CIN	PIT	—	4.2	4	2	2	0	1
1909-07-24	CIN	PHI	—	2.0	1	1	0	0	0
1909-07-21	CIN	BSN	L	3.0	3	5	3	0	2
1909-07-17	CIN	BSN	L	8.0	10	1	1	1	1
1909-07-13	CIN	NY1	L	8.0	16	8	7	4	5

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Billy Campbell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	70	44	19	158	8	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Billy Campbell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1905	SLN	P	2	2	2	9	0	0
1907	CIN	P	3	3	4	7	0	0
1908	CIN	P	35	24	10	87	7	1
1909	CIN	P	30	15	3	55	1	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Billy Campbell — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	70

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Billy Campbell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Billy Campbell: the record in brief

The profile opens with Billy Campbell's first major league game on April 17, 1905; the last one listed came on August 23, 1909. The team column moves through the St. Louis Cardinals (1905) and the Cincinnati Reds (1907 through 1909). Listed as a pitcher, Campbell both batted and threw left-handed. Height and weight on file: 165 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. Campbell was born on November 5, 1873, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Campbell's death is recorded on October 6, 1957, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Billy Campbell was the playing name; the full given name is William James.

Campbell went 23-25 with a 2.80 ERA in 70 games, 44 of them starts. The same table counts 116 strikeouts and 31 complete games. Against a 2.56 league ERA for the same seasons, the 2.80 mark was 9.3% worse. The best win total was 12, in 1908. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.60 in 1908, when the league's was 2.40.

Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Campbell

What years did Billy Campbell play?: Billy Campbell played in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1909.
Was Billy Campbell a pitcher?: Yes. Billy Campbell pitched in the major leagues, recording 23 wins and 116 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Billy Campbell hit?: Billy Campbell hit 0 career home runs with 15 hits.
What was Billy Campbell's career batting average?: Billy Campbell batted .115 over his career, with 15 hits in 130 at bats.
How many RBI did Billy Campbell have?: Billy Campbell drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Billy Campbell's career ERA?: Billy Campbell finished with a 2.80 career ERA, going 23-25 with 116 strikeouts.