Bill Harrington
From BR Bullpen
William Womble Harrington
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.
- Debut April 16, 1953
- Final Game September 30, 1956
- Born October 3, 1927 in Sanford, NC USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Right-hander Bill Harrington was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics before the 1949 season. The Athletics assigned him to the Red Springs Red Robins of the class D Tobacco State League and the first year man responded by going 17-11 with a 3.85 ERA while pitching 234 innings, helping his team to a close second place league finish and to a play-off championship his first season in pro ball. The North Carolina native would have three more double diget winning seasons with 10 wins in 1951, with 14 in 1952 and had a 19-12 year with a 2.68 ERA for the sixth place finishing Savannah Indians of the class A Sally League that opened his door to Shibe Park for the Athletics 1953 season.
The hard-throwing pitcher appeared in one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953 with no decisions and he also spent some time with the Kansas City Athletics in the 1955 and 1956 seasons, finishing 5-5 in 58 appearances. These would be Harrington's numbers in the big leagues. His fondest memory of his time in the majors is a game in 1955 against the Cleveland Indians which he entered with the bases full and nobody out, and retired sluggers Al Rosen, Ralph Kiner and Larry Doby without a run scoring. Things change and on December 5, 1956 Bill was traded by the Athletics along with Jack Crimian, Jim Finigan and Eddie Robinson to the Detroit Tigers for Wayne Belardi, Ned Garver, Gene Host, Virgil Trucks and $20,000.
Bill had two rough years in the minors in 1956-1957 but came back strong in 1958 with the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association when he went 20-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 214 innings and was named the league's MVP. His 20 victories tied him for the league lead along with Jim O'Toole and Bob Hartman and helped his team to the league championship and play-off title. He would win 10 times in 1959 for the Dallas Rangers of the American Association but would falter in 1960-1961 and decide to call it a career in 1961, at the age of 33, after eleven years in the minor leagues with a 115-102 record and a 3.76 ERA while pitching 1,881 innings.
After baseball Harrington made his home in Garner, NC, where he has been in security police work and is a retired farmer.
[edit] Sources
