Bill Macdonald

William Paul Macdonald

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Alameda High School
• Debut May 6, 1950
• Final Game May 24, 1953
• Born March 28, 1929 in Alameda, CA USA
• Died May 4, 1991 in Shasta Lake, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Righthander Bill Macdonald was signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers before the 1947 season. The 5' 10" pitcher spent his first pro season with the Lubbock Hubbers of the West Texas-New Mexico League where he won 12 and lost 9 with a 4.96 ERA. "Mac" wemt 15-7 with a 2.64 in 1948 for the Flint Arrows, helping his team win the class A Central League pennant. He became a free agent and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He still had his stuff in 1949, going 13-11 with a 3.28 ERA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Forbes Field, here he comes.

MacDonald shut out the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0, in his first major league start on May 23, 1950 for the Pirates and wound up the season with an 8-10 record as a 21-year-old rookie that season. After two years (1951 and 1952) in the United States Army during the Korean War, he was back with the Pirates in 1953, albeit only briefly, losing his only decision.

He finished out the 1953 season with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, winning 5 and losing 2 with a 3.42 ERA and was be there again in 1954, losing his only decision and bidding goodbye to pro baseball. Bill left the game at the age of 25 with a major league record of 8-11 with a 4.66 ERA and concluded his minor league run with a 45-30 mark and a 3.69 ERA. MacDonald then took a job in sales with the Del Monte Corporation in San Francisco, CA, retiring as a sales manager in 1979.

He lived in Sun Valley, ID, for several years before returning to California where he was a volunteer forest ranger for the Department of Forestry and with the Shasta County Search and Rescue Department. MacDonald died May 4, 1991, at age 62 in Shasta Lake, CA.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page
• Bill Macdonald on Find-A-Grave