William Thomas Harris was a Canadian pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the Brooklyn

1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season was overshadowed by Walter O'Malley's threat to move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn if the city did not build him a new stadium in that borough. When the best the mayor could promise was a stadium in Queens, O'Malley made good on his threats and moved the team to Los...

 and the Los Angeles Dodgers

1959 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The Los Angeles Dodgers finished in a first-place tie with the Milwaukee Braves, then won the pennant as they swept the Braves in a best-of-three playoff series. They went on to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series in just their second season since leaving Brooklyn.- Offseason :*...

 teams. Listed at 5' 8", 187 lb., Harris batted left handed and threw right handed. Born in Duguayville, New Brunswick

Duguayville, New Brunswick

Duguayville is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick....

, he attended Dorchester School.

Bill Harris appeared in only two major league games with the National League Dodgers – a losing start

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 to the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 in 1957 and a relief

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 appearance against the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 in 1959.

About his major league debut, Harris said, "It was at Shibe Park against the Phillies and I did o.k. but lost 3–2. I was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning and Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax

Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...

 came on in relief. Roy Campanella

Roy Campanella

Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...

 was the catcher and it turned out to be his last game".

In addition, Harris pitched in 14 Minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 seasons from 1951 through 1964, seven of them for the Montreal Royals

Montreal Royals

The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...

 of the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

, a Triple-A affiliate of the Dodgers. His most productive season came in 1952, when he posted a 25-6 record with a minuscule 0.83 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 and 12 shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

s in 294 innings

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

 of work.

Harris marveled at the talent that was around him in Montreal. "I think we had a team in Montreal that would beat most of the major league teams. Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the first manager to win the World Series in both...

 was my second baseman. We also had Rocky Nelson

Rocky Nelson

Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago White Sox , Brooklyn Dodgers and Cleveland Indians .A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Nelson batted and threw left-handed...

 (1B), John Roseboro (C), George Shuba

George Shuba

George "Shotgun" Shuba is a former utility outfielder and left-handed pinch hitter in Major League Baseball who played seven seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His seven seasons included three World Series as well as a World Series championship in 1955...

 (OF) , Dick Williams

Dick Williams

Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...

 (OF) and Chico Fernández

Chico Fernandez

Humberto "Chico" Fernández Pérez is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played eight seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers , Philadelphia Phillies , Detroit Tigers , and New York Mets . Fernández played in 856 Major League games, 810 at shortstop...

 (SS). Those were some great names", he explained.

Besides this, Harris went 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA for the Royals in 1958, helping them to clinch the International League pennant. Overall, he registered a 170-131 and a 3.39 ERA in 431 career appearances (300 starts), including one perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

 and two one hitters, while pitching 2,461 innings.

Harris also pitched six seasons in winter ball, in both Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 (2) and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 (4), playing for two of those years in the Caribbean Series.

In 2008, Harris gained induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...

. He was a long resident of Kennewick, Washington

Kennewick, Washington

Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities...

, where he owned the popular tavern Billy's Bullpen for many years.

Harris died at his home in Kennewick, at the age of 79, after suffering bleeding ulcers.

Sources