Bill Bagwell

William Mallory Bagwell
(Big Bill)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 17, 1923
• Final Game September 26, 1925
• Born February 24, 1896 in Choudrant, LA USA
• Died October 5, 1976 in Choudrant, LA USA

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Biographical Information

Bill Bagwell played left field in the majors for the 1923 Boston Braves and the 1924 Philadelphia Athletics. He hit .290 for the Braves and .300 for the A's. Although Bill appeared in 92 major league games, only 26 were in the field. As a top minor-league hitter, it is not surprising that he would be utilized as a pinch-hitter.

Bagwell was born in Choudrant, LA, in north-central Louisiana. He played minor league ball through the age of 35, often hitting over .350 and sometimes over .400 during the high-hitting 1920s. In 49 games for Worcester in 1923, he hit .453 for manager Jesse Burkett. The next-best hitter on the team, Eddie Eayrs, hit .402 in 92 at-bats. The Baseball Digest of August 1951 has an article claiming that pitchers in 1927 discovered that Bagwell could not hit the inside pitch and therefore were able to cause a large drop in his batting average as compared to the previous season. While it is true that Bagwell hit .391 for Portland in 1926 but only .292 the following season (in 71 games for Portland since he also played for Dallas), he was 32 years old and perhaps a drop-off from such a good season was not unexpected.

He was the father of Bill Bagwell Jr., a minor league pitcher from 1948-1956 who topped 20 wins three times in the minors.

Related Sites

• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Bill Bagwell