Bill Spaceman Lee

Birthdate	12/28/1946
Death Date
Debut Year	1969
Year of Induction
Teams	Expos, Red Sox
Position	Pitcher

Known for his eccentricities, Bill Spaceman Lee holds the Boston franchise record for most appearances by a LHP; he’s in the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

In the collection:

Left-handed pitcher Bill Spaceman Lee pitched in 321 games for the Boston Red Sox

Baseball is in Bill Lee’s blood. Grandfather and namesake William Lee was an infielder with the PCL’s Hollywood Stars; his aunt Annabelle Lee once pitched a perfect game in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Spaceman credited Annabelle with teaching him how to pitch.

The Spaceman credited Annabelle with teaching him how to pitch.

Lee starred at USC where he helped Rod Dedeaux’s Trojans win the 1968 College World Series. The Red Sox drafted him in the 22nd round and had him report to Single-A Winston-Salem.

Lee quickly worked his way through the minors and debuted in the bigs on June 25, 1969. He pitched 31 games for Boston in ’69 and ’70 before being called to active duty in Army Reserve from June through October in 1970.

The Spaceman spent his first four big league seasons pitching out of the ‘pen. Then in 1973 Boston made him a full time starter. Lee responded with an All Star season that saw him to 17-11 with a 2.75 ERA.

He followed up his ’73 performance with two consecutive 17-win seasons. In 1975 Lee helped Boston reach the World Series. He and Luis Tiant anchored the starting rotation, winning a combined 35 games.

Rookie of the Year and MVP Fred Lynn led the offense. He was flanked by Jim Rice and Dwight Evans in the outfield. The lineup also featured future Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski. The Red Sox lost the epic 7-game thriller to Sparky Anderson’s Big Red Machine.

Three seasons later Boston traded him to the Expos. Lee’s decade with the Sox included 321 appearances – a still-standing franchise record for games pitched by a southpaw.

The Sox inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2008.

From 1979-1982 Lee pitched for the Expos. In 95 games with Montreal he went 25-22 with a 3.57 earned run average. He pitched his last MLB game in May of ’82.

Lee continued playing in semi-pro and professional leagues for decades. In 2010 he became the oldest man to win a professional game when he got the victory in a 5 1/3 inning effort for the Brockton Sox of the Canadian-American League.

Two years later more than 30 years after his last big league pitch, Lee tossed a complete-game for the San Rafael Pacifics of independent pro ball’s North American League. After the game, the 65 year-old Lee remarked, “I’ve just solidified myself as the best old guy on the planet.”

During his MLB career, Lee appeared in 416 games posting a 119-90 record with 19 saves and 713 strikeouts.

In the collection is this pair of Topps cards autographed by Bill Spaceman Lee, one from 1973, the other from 1981. In ’73 Lee moved to the starting rotation he put up career-best numbers in wins, strikeouts, ERA+, and WAR. The 1981 campaign was Lee’s final season of consequence. He had a 5-6 record with 6 saves and a 2.94 ERA in 31 appearances. The following year he posted a 5.11 ERA in seven games before drawing his release in May.

Noted Yankee-hater Bill Lee dislocated his shoulder in a 1976 brawl with Graig Nettles

Perhaps the greatest rivalry in all of baseball is between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. From 1969-1978 Bill Lee played in Beantown and saw it up close. On May 20, 1976 the two rivals squared off at Yankee Stadium. New York led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning. With two o

Perhaps the greatest rivalry in all of baseball is between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. From 1969-1978 Bill Lee played in Beantown and saw it up close.

On May 20, 1976 the two rivals squared off at Yankee Stadium. New York led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning. With two out, Lou Piniella and Graig Nettles reached base with back-to-back singles.

Otto Velez smoked a line drive base hit to right field fielded. Third base coach Dick Howser waved Piniella home. Boston right fielder Dwight Evans came up with the ball and threw a laser to catcher Carlton Fisk. Piniella crashed into the Boston backstop who tagged him out.

Chaos ensued.

Nettle’s describes the action: “It started with a collision at home plate with Piniella and Fisk and they came up fighting. The year before we’d had a fight in Boston and Bill Lee said the Yankees fought like Times Square hookers. I just wanted to let him know we had some tough hookers in Times Square.

“He was in on the pile and I saw him taking swings at people. I threw him on the ground and he told me he’d get me next time.

“I said, ‘Let’s not wait ’till next time, let’s do it now.’

“So I popped him in the eye a couple of times. I remember some of their players coming up to me the next day congratulating me so they wouldn’t have to put up with that guy.”

Lee suffered a dislocated shoulder and a bruised ego. He didn’t pitch again until July 15th. On July 23rd he faced the Yankees for the first time since the brawl. Nettles went 2-for-4, including a two-run homer off of Lee as the Boston left-hander gave up 7 earned runs in four innings of work.

Shown here is a Yankee payroll check issued to Nettles on August 15, 1973. For more on Nettles, click here to access his page.

inquiries