What years did Bill Champion play?

Bill Champion played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1976.

Was Bill Champion a pitcher?

Yes. Bill Champion pitched in the major leagues, recording 34 wins and 360 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bill Champion hit?

Bill Champion hit 1 career home runs with 14 hits.

Bill Champion

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1969-1976)

W–L 34–50

ERA 4.69

WHIP 1.53

SO 360

Pitcher PIV -9145.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 188 lb
Born: 9/18/1947 in Shelby, NC, USA
Died: 1/7/2017 in Shelby, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1969-06-04
Last Game: 1976-06-05

Full name: Buford Billy Champion

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
34	50	202	102	13	3	2	804.3	873	419	64	354	360	4.69	-9145.0

Career ERA 4.69 vs. league average 3.61 across their career seasons — 30.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1969	PHI	NL	5	10	23	20	4	2	1	116.7	130	65	63	70	5.01	3.61 (-39%)	-504.3
1970	PHI	NL	0	2	7	1	0	0	0	14.0	21	14	10	12	9.00	3.89 (-132%)	-763.4
1971	PHI	NL	3	5	37	9	0	0	0	108.7	100	53	48	49	4.39	3.47 (-27%)	-1860.6
1972	PHI	NL	4	14	30	22	2	0	0	132.7	155	75	54	54	5.09	3.26 (-56%)	-2131.1
1973	ML4	AL	5	8	37	11	2	0	1	136.3	139	56	62	67	3.70	3.75 (+1%)	-827.0
1974	ML4	AL	11	4	31	23	2	0	0	161.7	168	65	49	60	3.62	3.63 (avg)	-334.9
1975	ML4	AL	6	6	27	13	3	1	0	110.0	125	72	55	40	5.89	3.71 (-59%)	-2610.1
1976	ML4	AL	0	1	10	3	0	0	0	24.3	35	19	13	8	7.03	3.51 (-100%)	-113.7
Career · 8 seasons			34	50	202	102	13	3	2	804.1	873	419	354	360	4.69	—	-9,145

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

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
204	99	5	14	2	0	1	5	0	2	39	.141	.158	.192	.350	0

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 44.1% below league average.

Career OBP .158 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 50.7% below league average.

Career SLG .192 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 48.1% below league average.

Career OPS .350 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — 49.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1969	PHI	NL	23	35	4	6	1	0	2	1	12	.171	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	PHI	NL	7	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	PHI	NL	37	27	0	3	1	0	2	0	9	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	PHI	NL	32	34	1	5	0	1	1	1	16	.147	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	ML4	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	ML4	AL	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	ML4	AL	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	ML4	AL	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			204	99	5	14	2	1	5	2	39	.141	—	—	—	—	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

View full game log (406 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	101	45	1	3	0	0	.067
Away	103	54	4	11	1	5	.204

Pitching — Home / Away

Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	100	411.1	438	194	155	180	4.24
Away	102	393.0	435	225	199	180	5.15

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1976-06-05	MIL	KCR	L	2.0	6	5	5	1	1
1976-06-01	MIL	DET	—	6.1	10	4	4	2	1
1976-05-23	MIL	CLE	—	2.1	4	3	3	1	0
1976-05-19	MIL	BAL	—	2.2	2	2	2	4	2
1976-05-13	MIL	BAL	—	3.1	2	1	1	1	0
1976-05-08	MIL	MIN	—	0.2	1	1	1	1	1
1976-05-01	MIL	MIN	—	1.1	4	2	2	0	0
1976-04-20	MIL	KCR	—	3.1	2	1	1	2	1
1976-04-18	MIL	TEX	—	1.2	3	1	0	1	2
1976-04-10	MIL	NYY	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	202	102	64	137	9	13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1969	PHI	P	23	20	10	22	1	2
1970	PHI	P	7	1	0	3	0	0
1971	PHI	P	37	9	12	19	1	1
1972	PHI	P	30	22	9	22	1	2
1973	ML4	P	37	11	7	30	1	4
1974	ML4	P	31	23	16	16	3	2
1975	ML4	P	27	13	8	19	2	2
1976	ML4	P	10	3	2	6	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
Pitcher	202

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Champion (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Champion

What years did Bill Champion play?: Bill Champion played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1976.
Was Bill Champion a pitcher?: Yes. Bill Champion pitched in the major leagues, recording 34 wins and 360 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Champion hit?: Bill Champion hit 1 career home runs with 14 hits.