Billy Champion | |||
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Pitcher | |||
Born: Shelby, North Carolina |
September 18, 1947|||
Died: January 7, 2017 Shelby, North Carolina |
(aged 69)|||
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MLB debut | |||
June 4, 1969, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
June 5, 1976, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 34–50 | ||
Earned run average | 4.69 | ||
Innings | 804 1⁄3 | ||
Strikeouts | 360 | ||
Teams | |||
Buford Billy Champion (September 18, 1947 – January 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who played in 202 games in the Major Leagues from 1969–1976.
He pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. Before making the majors in 1969, he was a two-time earned run average minor league leader: he was Northern League ERA champ with Huron in 1965, and led the Carolina League in ERA in 1968. He was part of the trade that brought Don Money to Milwaukee, as the Phillies traded Champion, Money and John Vukovich to Milwaukee for pitchers Jim Lonborg, Ken Sanders, Ken Brett and Earl Stephenson on October 31, 1972. Champion went on to become a scout for the Chicago Cubs and pitching coach for the Greenville Braves.
Champion died on January 7, 2017.