46 Facts About Bill Buckner

1.

William Joseph Buckner was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for five teams from 1969 through 1990, most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.

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2.

Bill Buckner was named to the All-Star team the following year as he led the major leagues in doubles.

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3.

Bill Buckner ended his career with 2,715 hits and 498 doubles, having batted over.

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4.

Bill Buckner led his league in assists four times, with his 1985 mark remaining the American League record.

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5.

Bill Buckner retired with the fourth-most assists by a first baseman in major league history despite not playing the position regularly until he was 27 years old.

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6.

Bill Buckner coached a number of Minor League Baseball teams before leaving baseball in 2014.

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7.

Bill Buckner was born in Vallejo, California and grew up in nearby American Canyon.

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8.

Bill Buckner and his brothers Bob and Jim, and Jim's twin sister Jan, were raised by their parents, Leonard and Marie Katherine Buckner; his father died in 1966, when Bill was a teenager.

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9.

Bill Buckner's mother was a stenographer for the California Highway Patrol.

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10.

Bill Buckner graduated from Napa High School in 1968 after playing on the school's baseball and football teams.

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11.

At first, Bill Buckner contemplated attending Stanford or USC, but he eventually chose professional baseball instead.

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12.

Bill Buckner was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft; his friend Bobby Valentine was the Dodgers' first-round pick.

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13.

Bill Buckner briefly attended Los Angeles Valley College, USC and Arizona State University.

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14.

Bill Buckner became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity while a farmhand with the Dodgers, and roomed with Valentine while attending USC after his first professional season.

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15.

At age 18, Bill Buckner made his professional debut playing with the Ogden Dodgers of the Rookie Pioneer league in 1968, hitting.

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16.

Bill Buckner was teammates with Valentine and Steve Garvey, who were playing in their first professional seasons.

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17.

In 1969, Bill Buckner played with four Dodger teams, as he advanced quickly in the Dodgers' farm system.

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18.

Bill Buckner played most of the 1970 season with a broken jaw and with his jaw wired shut.

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19.

Bill Buckner played some first base with the Dodgers, making 87 starts at first in 1973.

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20.

Bill Buckner played a supporting role in a baseball milestone on April 8,1974.

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21.

Bill Buckner played in his first World Series that year, which the Dodgers lost to the Oakland Athletics in five games; Buckner hit.

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22.

Bill Buckner had suffered a staph infection in his ankle in 1976, so the Cubs shifted him to first base, the playing position where he remained for the final 14 years of his career.

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23.

Bill Buckner appeared in all 162 games for the Red Sox in 1985, and batted.

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24.

Bill Buckner was a prototypical contact hitter, and struck out just 36 times in 719 plate appearances to lead the American League in that category in 1985.

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25.

Meanwhile, Bill Buckner became the first major league player to wear Nike high-top baseball cleats professionally in an effort to relieve pressure on his ankles.

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26.

Bill Buckner entered Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series batting just.

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27.

Bill Buckner went 3–for–6 in the final 2 games as the Red Sox came back from the brink of elimination to defeat the California Angels and win the American League pennant.

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28.

Bill Buckner was 2–for–4 in the game, and scored 1 of Boston's 2 runs in the eighth.

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29.

Bill Buckner began receiving death threats and was heckled and booed by some of his own home fans, often with the false belief or implication that his play alone could have instantly won the series for the Red Sox.

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30.

At 38 years old, Bill Buckner was released by the Angels on May 9,1988, just before a road trip that would have brought him to the east coast to face the Yankees and Red Sox.

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31.

Bill Buckner returned to the Red Sox in 1990 as a free agent and received a standing ovation from the crowd during player introductions at the home opener on April 9.

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32.

Bill Buckner was a speedy baserunner until his ankle surgeries in 1975 and 1976 for a severe ankle sprain and bone chips, respectively.

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33.

Bill Buckner twice finished in the top 10 in the league in stolen bases and twice led the league in doubles.

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34.

Bill Buckner lent his name to and was a minority owner of a local car dealership, Bill Buckner Motors in Emmett, which was in business from 2006 to 2008.

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35.

Bill Buckner received a two-minute standing ovation from the sell-out crowd.

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36.

On January 4,2011, Bill Buckner was named the manager of the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League.

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37.

In December, Bill Buckner became the hitting instructor for the Boise Hawks for the 2012 season.

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38.

Bill Buckner announced his retirement from baseball on March 3,2014.

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39.

Bill Buckner was inducted into the Napa High School Hall Of Fame in 1997 and the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2010.

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40.

Bill Buckner was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2008.

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41.

Bill Buckner died on May 27,2019, of Lewy body dementia at the age of 69.

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42.

Bill Buckner was surrounded by his wife Jody and three children at the time of his death.

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43.

Bill Buckner made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the sports parody film The Comebacks andwas featured in an episode of the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm.

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44.

Bill Buckner made a cameo appearance in the pilot episode of the short-lived sitcom Inside Schwartz, advising the title character to "just let it go".

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45.

In 1995, Bill Buckner appeared along with Michael Jordan, Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.

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46.

Bill Buckner is mentioned in The Areas of My Expertise in a series of New England sports references.

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