Bill Lillard
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1940)
Bill Lillard was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1940 for the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 2 seasons. In 80 career games, he hit .244 with 55 hits, 1 home runs, and 22 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 170 lb
- Died
- 6/9/2009 in San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1939-09-11
- Last Game
- 1940-09-24
Full name: William Beverly Lillard
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 225 | 30 | 55 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 31 | 29 | .244 | .339 | .316 | .654 | -311 |
Career AVG .244 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 9.7% below league average.
Career OBP .339 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .316 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 19.2% below league average.
Career OPS .654 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 10.3% below league average.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | PHA | AL | 7 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .316 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | PHA | AL | 73 | 206 | 26 | 49 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 28 | 28 | .238 | .267 (-11%) | .335 (-1%) | .387 (-20%) | .722 (-11%) | -310.6 |
| Career · 2 seasons | 80 | 225 | 30 | 55 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 31 | 29 | .244 | — | — | — | — | -311 | ||
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 (80 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 52 | 159 | 23 | 42 | 1 | 17 | .264 |
| Away | 28 | 66 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 5 | .197 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940-09-24 | PHA | BOS | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1940-09-24 | PHA | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1940-08-11 | PHA | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1940-08-08 | PHA | MIN | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1940-08-04 | PHA | SLA | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1940-08-04 | PHA | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-08-02 | PHA | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-07-30 | PHA | CHW | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-07-27 | PHA | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-07-15 | PHA | DET | L | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 1 |
| Shortstop | 76 |
Bill Lillard: the record in brief
According to the bio, Bill Lillard debuted on September 11, 1939 and played a final game on September 24, 1940. Lillard's only club in the season tables is the Philadelphia Athletics. Lillard, born on January 10, 1918, in Goleta, CA, USA, is listed as a shortstop and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 5 feet, 10 inches and 170 pounds. Lillard died on June 9, 2009, in San Luis Obispo, CA, USA. Lillard's full given name, per the bio, is William Beverly Lillard.
The batting record for Lillard: 80 games, 55 hits in 225 at bats, and a .244 average, along with 1 home run and 22 RBI. Lillard's career OPS of .654 combines a .339 on-base mark with .316 slugging. Set against a .271 league average for the same years, Lillard's .244 average sits 9.7% below it. The OPS comparison is .654 to a league .729, 10.3% below average. 1940 produced Lillard's most hits, 49 of them for the Philadelphia Athletics. Even the best average among the busiest seasons, .238 in 1940, did not top the league's .267.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Lillard
- What years did Bill Lillard play?
- Bill Lillard played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1940.
- Was Bill Lillard a pitcher?
- No. Bill Lillard was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Bill Lillard hit?
- Bill Lillard hit 1 career home run with 55 hits.
- What teams did Bill Lillard play for?
- Bill Lillard played for one team, the Philadelphia Athletics (1939–1940).
- What were Bill Lillard's career stats?
- In 80 games, Bill Lillard had 55 hits, 1 home runs, 22 RBI, and 30 runs, with a .244 batting average.
- What position did Bill Lillard play?
- Bill Lillard played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bill Lillard and how much did he weigh?
- Bill Lillard was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 170 pounds.
- How many home runs did Bill Lillard hit each season?
- Bill Lillard's home runs by season: 0 in 1939 and 1 in 1940. His most in one season was 1, in 1940.
- What was Bill Lillard's career batting average?
- Bill Lillard batted .244 over his career, with 55 hits in 225 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bill Lillard have?
- Bill Lillard drove in 22 runs in his career.
- Is Bill Lillard in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bill Lillard has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.