Bill Russell
Born: 10/21/1948 in Pittsburg, KS, USA
MLB Debut: 1969-04-07 | Final Game: 1986-10-01
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 175 lbs
Full name: William Ellis Russell
Biography
Bill Russell was a prominent position player in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1969 to 1986. Born in 1948, Russell made a significant impact on the game during his time, showcasing his versatility and skill across 2,181 games. Over his lengthy career, he accumulated 1,926 hits, 46 home runs, and 627 RBIs, finishing with a batting average of .263. Known for his speed on the bases, he also recorded 167 stolen bases, which highlighted his ability to contribute offensively in various ways.
Russell was selected as an All-Star three times, a testament to his talent and performance during an era marked by competitive play and evolving strategies in baseball. He played in an age that transitioned from the traditional styles of the game into a more dynamic approach, which emphasized speed and agility. His contributions to the teams he played for left a lasting legacy, as he was not only a reliable presence in the lineup but also a key player who helped define the era in which he played.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2181 | 7318 | 796 | 1926 | 293 | 57 | 46 | 627 | 167 | 483 | 667 | 0.263 | 0.310 | 0.338 | 0.648 | -11635.9 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | LAD | NL | 98 | 212 | 35 | 48 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 45 | 0.226 | -250.3 |
| 1970 | LAD | NL | 81 | 278 | 30 | 72 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 28 | 9 | 16 | 28 | 0.259 | -417.4 |
| 1971 | LAD | NL | 91 | 211 | 29 | 48 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 39 | 0.227 | -566.8 |
| 1972 | LAD | NL | 129 | 434 | 47 | 118 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 34 | 14 | 34 | 64 | 0.272 | 308.4 |
| 1973 | LAD | NL | 162 | 615 | 55 | 163 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 15 | 34 | 63 | 0.265 | -1293.5 |
| 1974 | LAD | NL | 160 | 553 | 61 | 149 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 65 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0.269 | -52.0 |
| 1975 | LAD | NL | 84 | 252 | 24 | 52 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 0.206 | -1059.7 |
| 1976 | LAD | NL | 149 | 554 | 53 | 152 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 65 | 15 | 21 | 46 | 0.274 | -703.4 |
| 1977 | LAD | NL | 153 | 634 | 84 | 176 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 51 | 16 | 24 | 43 | 0.278 | -1297.8 |
| 1978 | LAD | NL | 155 | 625 | 72 | 179 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 10 | 30 | 34 | 0.286 | -399.0 |
| 1979 | LAD | NL | 153 | 627 | 72 | 170 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 56 | 6 | 24 | 43 | 0.271 | -1377.4 |
| 1980 | LAD | NL | 130 | 466 | 38 | 123 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 13 | 18 | 44 | 0.264 | -1034.9 |
| 1981 | LAD | NL | 82 | 262 | 20 | 61 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 19 | 20 | 0.233 | -825.8 |
| 1982 | LAD | NL | 153 | 497 | 64 | 136 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 10 | 63 | 30 | 0.274 | 47.4 |
| 1983 | LAD | NL | 131 | 451 | 47 | 111 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 13 | 33 | 31 | 0.246 | -1460.3 |
| 1984 | LAD | NL | 89 | 262 | 25 | 70 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 25 | 24 | 0.267 | -340.8 |
| 1985 | LAD | NL | 76 | 169 | 19 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 0.260 | -255.3 |
| 1986 | LAD | NL | 105 | 216 | 21 | 54 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 15 | 23 | 0.250 | -657.4 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 194 | 14 | 57 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 11 | 15 | 0.294 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | NLCS | LAN | 4 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.286 |
| 1981 | NWDIV | LAN | 5 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0.250 |
| 1981 | WS | LAN | 6 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.240 |
| 1981 | NLCS | LAN | 5 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.312 |
| 1978 | WS | LAN | 6 | 26 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.423 |
| 1978 | NLCS | LAN | 4 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.412 |
| 1977 | WS | LAN | 6 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.154 |
| 1977 | NLCS | LAN | 4 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.278 |
| 1974 | WS | LAN | 5 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.222 |
| 1974 | NLCS | LAN | 4 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.389 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 62 | 47 | 114 | 150 | 9 | 25 |
| 3B | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 299 | 180 | 454 | 16 | 7 | 2 |
| SS | 1746 | 1664 | 2536 | 5546 | 339 | 909 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | LAN | OF | 86 | 45 | 132 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1970 | LAN | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | LAN | OF | 79 | 67 | 167 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 1971 | LAN | 2B | 41 | 35 | 81 | 108 | 7 | 21 |
| 1971 | LAN | SS | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 1971 | LAN | OF | 40 | 16 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | LAN | SS | 121 | 118 | 197 | 439 | 34 | 69 |
| 1972 | LAN | OF | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | LAN | SS | 162 | 162 | 243 | 560 | 31 | 106 |
| 1974 | LAN | SS | 160 | 154 | 194 | 491 | 39 | 68 |
| 1974 | LAN | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | LAN | SS | 83 | 81 | 94 | 230 | 11 | 27 |
| 1976 | LAN | SS | 149 | 145 | 251 | 476 | 28 | 90 |
| 1977 | LAN | SS | 153 | 149 | 234 | 523 | 29 | 102 |
| 1978 | LAN | SS | 155 | 151 | 245 | 533 | 31 | 91 |
| 1979 | LAN | SS | 150 | 148 | 218 | 452 | 30 | 70 |
| 1980 | LAN | SS | 129 | 120 | 179 | 387 | 19 | 57 |
| 1981 | LAN | SS | 80 | 78 | 128 | 261 | 14 | 49 |
| 1982 | LAN | SS | 150 | 146 | 216 | 502 | 29 | 64 |
| 1983 | LAN | SS | 127 | 122 | 192 | 392 | 22 | 61 |
| 1984 | LAN | 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | LAN | SS | 65 | 56 | 81 | 165 | 9 | 29 |
| 1984 | LAN | OF | 18 | 16 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | LAN | 2B | 8 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | LAN | 3B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | LAN | SS | 23 | 19 | 27 | 64 | 8 | 11 |
| 1985 | LAN | OF | 21 | 15 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | LAN | 2B | 8 | 6 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 4 |
| 1986 | LAN | 3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | LAN | SS | 32 | 14 | 36 | 64 | 4 | 13 |
| 1986 | LAN | OF | 48 | 21 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 60 |
| Third Base | 7 |
| Shortstop | 1746 |
| Left Field | 62 |
| Center Field | 78 |
| Right Field | 178 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | TSN All-Star | SS |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | LAN | NL | $450,000 |
| 1985 | LAN | NL | $450,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $900,000 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 32th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |