Bill Bruton
| Bill Bruton | |
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 Bruton in 1955. |
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| Outfielder | |
| Born: November 9, 1925 Panola, Alabama[disambiguation needed  ] |
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| Died: December 5, 1995 (aged 70) Marshallton, Delaware |
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| Batted: Left | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 13, 1953 for the Milwaukee Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 1964 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .273 |
| Home runs | 94 |
| Runs batted in | 545 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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William Havon Bruton (November 9, 1925 – December 5, 1995) was a Major League Baseball center fielder who played for the Milwaukee Braves in 1953 through 1960, and for the Detroit Tigers in 1961 through 64. Bruton batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Bruton was born in Panola, Alabama[disambiguation needed ], and he was the son-in-law of the Negro Leagues legend, Judy Johnson.
As a teammate of Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, Lew Burdette, Johnny Logan, Eddie Mathews, Red Schoendienst, Warren Spahn, and Bobby Thomson, Bruton was the leadoff hitter, the chief base stealer, and the center fielder for the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of 1956 through 1960.
Bruton started his career right after the Braves franchise moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953. He became an immediate hero when he hit a 10th-inning home run that gave the Braves a 3 - 2 victory over St. Louis in Milwaukee's first major league game. A line-drive hitter and speedy runner, Bruton led the National League in stolen bases for three consecutive seasons (1953 through 55), twice in triples (1956 and 1960), and once in runs scored (1960). Bruton also led off games with home runs twelve times.
In 1957, a serious knee injury knocked Bruton out of the second half the season - and hence the chance to play in the World Series, which the Braves won in seven games over the New York Yankees. Then, in the next baseball season, Bruton came back in good form with the Braves. He was also the Braves' leading hitter with a .412 average in the 1958 World Series, which the Braves lost in seven games to the Yankees. Then in 1959, Bruton led off for the Braves for the season in which the Braves tied for the National League pennant with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bruton knocked three triples in one game during the 1959 season. Two of these triples were with the bases loaded, which was the only time that any batter accomplished this in the National League during the 20th century. Bruton played for eight seasons with the Braves, and then he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he spent four seasons. There, he covered center field between the heavy hitters Al Kaline and Rocky Colavito.
Bruton decided to hang up his baseball spikes permanently following the 1964 season.
Bruton died after suffering a heart attack in Marshallton, Delaware, while driving near his home in Wilmington, Del., at the age of 70.
Contents |
[edit] Stats
- In his twelve-year Major League career, Bruton posted an overall .273 batting average with 94 home runs and 545 RBI in 1610 games.
- tied for the Northern League lead in games played (124), and led the league in at bats (545), runs (126), and batting average (.325) while playing for the Eau Claire Bears in 1950
- led the Western League with 27 triples while playing for the Denver Bears in 1951
- tied for the American Association lead in games played (154), at bats (650), runs (130), hits (211), and outfield assists (22) while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1952
[edit] Awards
In 1991, Bruton was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame.
[edit] See also
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
[edit] References
- 1955 Baseball Register published by The Sporting News
[edit] External links
- Baseball Library - Profile and highlights
- Baseball Reference - Career statistics and analysis
- The Deadball Era
- Retrosheet
| Preceded by Pee Wee Reese |
National League Stolen Base Champion 1953-1955 |
Succeeded by Willie Mays |
