Bill Bruton (November 9, 1925 - December 5, 1995) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Milwaukee Braves (1953-60) and Detroit Tigers (1961-64). Bruton batted left handed and threw right handed. He was born in Panola, Alabama. In a 12-year career, Bruton posted a .273 batting average with 94 home runs and 545 RBI in 1610 games.
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, chief base stealer and rangy center fielder for the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s.
Bruton started his career when the Braves franchise moved to Milwaukee from Boston 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, he led the National League in stolen bases for three consecutive seasons (1953-55), two times in triples (1956, 1960) and once in runs (1960). He also led off games with home runs twelve times.
In 1957, a knee injury cost Bruton half of the season and a chance to play in the World Series, which Milwaukee won. The next year, he came back in good form and was the leading hitter with a .412 average in the 1958 World Series, when the Braves lost in seven games with the Yankees.
Bruton hit three triples in a game during the 1959 season. Two of his triples were with the bases loaded -the one and only time it occurred in the National League in the 20th century. He played eight seasons with the Braves before calling it quits in 1964 after four years with the Detroit Tigers.
Bruton died in a car accident in Marshallton, Delaware, while driving near his home in Wilmington, at age of 69.
