Bill Parsons

William Raymond Parsons

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 6", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of Utah, Riverside Community College
• High School Riverside Polytechnic High School
• Debut April 13, 1971
• Final Game September 28, 1974
• Born August 17, 1948 in Riverside, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Parsons had a four-year career as a major league pitcher, coming in second in the 1971 American League Rookie of the Year Award voting. He went 13-17 with a 3.20 ERA as a rookie with the Milwaukee Brewers that season. Parsons was named Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the year.

Parsons was drafted in the 7th round by the Seattle Pilots in the 1968 amateur draft and worked his way up the minors with the Newark Co-Pilots in 1968 and the Billings Mustangs and Clinton Pilots in 1969. At Clinton, he posted a 1.57 ERA in 69 innings. In 1970, the parent team moved to Milwaukee, while he pitched for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League at the age of 22.

After going 13-17 in 1971 for a last-place team, he went 13-13 in 1972 as the Brewers again finished in last place. In both seasons, he was second on the team in victories.

In 1973, he was in only 20 games with an ERA of 6.79 as his arm felt the stress of having pitched over 200 innings the previous two seasons. In 1974, after being traded to the Oakland Athletics, he pitched only 2 innings in the majors. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in July 1975 but never appeared in the majors with them.

Notable Achievements

• 1971 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1971 & 1972)

Further Reading

• Rick Schabowski: "Bill Parsons", in Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 527-530. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1

Related Sites

• Bill Parsons at the SABR Bio Project