Jack Billingham

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Lore & Background

Billingham's 0.36 earned run average over the 1972, 1975 and 1976 World Series (minimum 25 innings pitched) was the lowest in World Series history until it was surpassed by Madison Bumgarner in 2014. He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox. In 1984, Billingham was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

In Their Own Story

The turning point for Billingham came during the 1972 World Series against the Oakland A's. In Game 3, he pitched eight shutout innings before being removed in favor of reliever Clay Carroll while facing the first batter of the bottom of the ninth inning. Cincinnati won 1-0, and Billingham earned the victory. His dominance continued into the 1975 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. After starting Game 2 and holding them scoreless for four innings following a first-inning run, he appeared as a relief pitcher in Game 6. The climax arrived in Game 7; with the Reds trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Billingham entered as a reliever. He held the Red Sox scoreless for two crucial innings, allowing Cincinnati to rally from behind and secure a 4-3 victory to clinch the championship. Over seven World Series games, he went 2-0 with a microscopic 0.36 ERA.

Reader's Guide

Billingham was born in Orlando, Florida and graduated from Winter Park High School in 1961. He believes that he is a distant cousin of Baseball Hall of Fame member Christy Mathewson, although the exact relationship is not known. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent on June 12, 1961. He spent seven years in the Dodgers’ minor-league system, where he was groomed as a relief pitcher. Billingham made his major league debut with the Dodgers on April 11, 1968, at the age of 25. He didn't give up a run until his seventh appearance as a relief pitcher for the Dodgers. In his only appearance as a starting pitcher, he shut out the Pirates through eight innings. Billingham finished the season with a 3-0 win–loss record with a 2.14 earned-run average. However, the Dodgers left Billingham unprotected and he was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft. In January 1969, the Expos traded Donn Clendenon to the Houston Astros for Rusty Staub. Clendenon refused to report, and Billingham was later sent to Houston to complete the trade. In 1969, Billingham was again used as a reliever (52 games, 6–7 record, 4.25 ERA). In 1970 he was moved into the starting rotation (46 games, 24 starts), before becoming exclusively a starting pitcher in 1971. On November 29, 1971, Billingham was acquired from the Astros along with Ed Armbrister, Cesar Geronimo, Denis Menke and Joe Morgan. The trade helped to transform the Reds into the juggernaut known as the Big Red Machine that would dominate the National League for the next five seasons. In Game 3 of the 1972 World Series, Billingham pitched eight shutout innings versus the Oakland A's. Billingham was removed from the game in favor of reliever Clay Carroll by Reds' manager Sparky Anderson while facing the first Oakland batter in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cincinnati won the game, 1–0, and Billingham got credit for the victory. In 1973, Billingham went 19–10 with a career-best 3.04 ERA. He led the National League with 40 starts, 293 innings pitched and seven shutouts and earned a berth on the National League All-Star team in the 1973 All-Star Game. He followed that with a 19–11 season in 1974. On April 4, 1974, Billingham gave up Hank Aaron's 714th career home run, which tied Aaron with Babe Ruth for No. 1 on the all-time home run list at the time. In the 1975 World Ser

Did You Know?

• Billingham's 0.36 ERA over the 1972, 1975 and 1976 World Series (minimum 25 innings pitched) was the lowest in World Series history until surpassed by Madison Bumgarner in 2014.
• He gave up Hank Aaron's 714th career home run on April 4, 1974, tying Aaron with Babe Ruth for the all-time home run lead at the time.
• Billingham was part of the trade that brought Joe Morgan and others to the Reds, helping form the Big Red Machine.