What years did Bill Donovan play?

Bill Donovan played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1943.

Was Bill Donovan a pitcher?

Yes. Bill Donovan pitched in the major leagues, recording 4 wins and 24 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bill Donovan hit?

Bill Donovan hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.

What teams did Bill Donovan play for?

Bill Donovan played for one team, the Boston Braves (1942–1943).

What were Bill Donovan's career stats?

In 38 games, Bill Donovan went 4-6 with a 3.20 ERA, 24 strikeouts, and 104.0 innings pitched.

What position did Bill Donovan play?

Bill Donovan played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Bill Donovan and how much did he weigh?

Bill Donovan was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 198 pounds.

What was Bill Donovan's career ERA?

Bill Donovan finished with a 3.20 career ERA, going 4-6 with 24 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Bill Donovan have?

Bill Donovan recorded 24 career strikeouts.

Is Bill Donovan in the Hall of Fame?

No. Bill Donovan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bill Donovan

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1942-1943)

Bill Donovan was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1943 for the Boston Braves, a span of 2 seasons. Across 38 career appearances, he went 4-6 with a 3.20 ERA and 24 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 7.6.

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 15, 2026

W–L 4–6

ERA 3.20

WHIP 1.49

SO 24

Pitcher PIV 7.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 198 lb
Born: 7/6/1916 in Maywood, IL, USA
Died: 9/25/1997 in Maywood, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1942-04-19
Last Game: 1943-06-20

Full name: Willard Earl Donovan

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Donovan — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
4	6	38	10	2	0	0	104.0	114	37	2	41	24	3.20	7.6

Career ERA 3.20 vs. league average 3.53 across their career seasons — 9.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Donovan — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1942	BSN	NL	3	6	31	10	2	89.1	97	34	32	23	3.43	3.57 (+4%)	320.4
1943	BSN	NL	1	0	7	0	0	14.2	17	3	9	1	1.84	3.50 (+47%)	-312.8
Career · 2 seasons			4	6	38	10	2	104.0	114	37	41	24	3.20	—	8

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

Bill Donovan — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
38	28	1	7	0	0	0	1	0	2	6	.250	.300	.250	.550	0

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .300 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 7.4% below league average.

Career SLG .250 vs. league average .348 across their career seasons — 28.2% below league average.

Career OPS .550 vs. league average .672 across their career seasons — 18.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Donovan — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1942	BSN	NL	31	25	1	6	1	2	4	.240	—	—	—	—	0.0
1943	BSN	NL	7	3	0	1	0	0	2	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 2 seasons			38	28	1	7	1	2	6	.250	—	—	—	—	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 (76 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Donovan — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	18	10	0	2	0	0	.200
Away	20	18	1	5	0	1	.278

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Donovan — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	18	46.2	35	7	15	15	1.35
Away	20	57.1	79	31	26	9	4.87

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Donovan — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	BB	SO
1943-06-20	BSN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1943-06-17	BSN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1943-06-10	BSN	BRO	L	0	0	0	0	0
1943-06-05	BSN	CIN	W	1	0	0	0	1
1943-05-31	BSN	PIT	L	2	0	1	0	1
1943-05-07	BSN	BRO	L	0	0	0	0	0
1943-05-05	BSN	NY1	L	0	0	0	0	0
1942-09-26	BSN	NY1	L	1	1	1	0	0
1942-09-17	BSN	STL	L	0	0	0	0	0
1942-09-14	BSN	CHC	W	3	0	0	1	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Donovan — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1943-06-20	BSN	PHI	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1943-06-17	BSN	PHI	—	1.0	3	2	2	0	0	0
1943-06-10	BSN	BRO	—	0.1	2	0	0	1	0	0
1943-06-05	BSN	CIN	W	4.2	4	0	0	3	1	0
1943-05-31	BSN	PIT	—	5.1	6	2	1	2	0	0
1943-05-07	BSN	BRO	—	0.1	1	0	0	1	0	0
1943-05-05	BSN	NY1	—	2.0	1	0	0	2	0	0
1942-09-26	BSN	NY1	L	4.2	9	5	5	2	1	2
1942-09-17	BSN	STL	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1942-09-14	BSN	CHC	W	9.0	8	2	2	2	5	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Donovan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	38	0	5	41	2	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Donovan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1942	BSN	P	31	0	5	32	2	0
1943	BSN	P	7	0	0	9	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Donovan — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	38

Bill Donovan: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 19, 1942 and the final game on June 20, 1943, Bill Donovan built the record summarized on this page. Donovan's only club in the season tables is the Boston Braves. Donovan is listed as a pitcher at 198 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. The bio says Donovan batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Donovan was born on July 6, 1916, in Maywood, IL, USA. Donovan died on September 25, 1997, in Maywood, IL, USA. The given name on file is Willard Earl Donovan.

Donovan pitched in 38 games, starting 10, and finished with a 4-6 record and 3.20 ERA. The totals include 24 strikeouts. The leagues Donovan pitched in allowed 3.53 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 9.4% better than average. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.43 in 1942, when the league's was 3.57. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 7.6 for Donovan's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Donovan

What years did Bill Donovan play?: Bill Donovan played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1943.
Was Bill Donovan a pitcher?: Yes. Bill Donovan pitched in the major leagues, recording 4 wins and 24 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Donovan hit?: Bill Donovan hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.
What teams did Bill Donovan play for?: Bill Donovan played for one team, the Boston Braves (1942–1943).
What were Bill Donovan's career stats?: In 38 games, Bill Donovan went 4-6 with a 3.20 ERA, 24 strikeouts, and 104.0 innings pitched.
What position did Bill Donovan play?: Bill Donovan played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bill Donovan and how much did he weigh?: Bill Donovan was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 198 pounds.
What was Bill Donovan's career ERA?: Bill Donovan finished with a 3.20 career ERA, going 4-6 with 24 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bill Donovan have?: Bill Donovan recorded 24 career strikeouts.
Is Bill Donovan in the Hall of Fame?: No. Bill Donovan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.