Where are they now? Bill North: former Oakland athletics outfielder: one-time American League base stealing champ played 11 seasons in the majors and was part of 1973-1974 World Series club

Baseball Digest, Sept, 2004 by Dan Raley

HE WOULD PREFER THAT YOU call him Bill North, not Billy, now that he's a Kirkland financial planner, and likely a good one considering what he accomplished in his baseball career.

North started small and built himself into something big.

"He was always the third- or four- or fifth-best player, never the best," said Booth Gardner, North's first coach with his Broadway Kiwanis Little League team. "I was really glad to see him make it to Oakland."

North, 55, played 11 major league seasons with the A's, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, appearing in three World Series and collecting two title rings with Oakland.

He was a base-stealer extraordinaire, collecting 395 in his career, and twice leading the American League--with a big league-best 75 thefts in 1976 and 54 in 1974. He had two other seasons of 53 or more.

Yet while growing up, from his Little League teams to Garfield High School in Seattle, North found himself stuck in one place, not going anywhere.

"I wasn't a very good player," he says now.

As Garfield seniors, teammates Joe Staton and Joe Carter were selected for the all-state game while North stayed home. Staton would later play briefly for the Detroit Tigers.

"I was third-team All-Metro, which was like kissing your sister," said North, a .364 hitter in his final Bulldogs season, fourth best on the team.

Still, he just loved to play baseball. He had two older brothers and everyone either hung out at Broadway Park, or threw balls off the wall of the nearby Langendorf bakery, or played games of "Strikeout" in the parking lots of the Safeway store and Coca-Cola bottling plant down the street. He collected baseball cards and hung out at Sick's Stadium watching Pacific Coast League games.

It wasn't until North enrolled at Central Washington University that he realized he had something special to offer in the sport, and even then it took a while. He originally turned to Ellensburg for basketball, which he played for two seasons before giving it up to concentrate solely on baseball

"Then I became the best player on the team," he said. "I grew up physically."

As a sophomore, North batted .455 for a Central team that finished third nationally, and, as a junior, he hit .476 and was named first-team NAIA All-American. That summer, he signed with the Cubs and was shipped to Caldwell, Idaho, to play in the Rookie League.

"I said to myself, 'I'm almost there," he says. "I didn't have an idea about the path, but I said, 'I'll be playing on TV soon."

It was true. In two and a half years, North was in the major leagues, wowing everyone with his speed in center field and on the base paths.

He is known best for his six seasons in Oakland, when the A's ruled the American League, and was the last high-profile player traded when owner Charlie O. Finley started getting rid of everyone as salaries escalated.

Today, North lives with his wife, Pam, and has a daughter, Ashley, 21, who attends the University of Washing-ton. He has been in financial services since retiring from baseball, working first in the Bay Area before returning to the Seattle area in 1991. To appease his mother, he obtained his degree from Central in '93.

On the wall of his Eastside office is an elaborate framed collage of photos and newspaper clippings from his major league career.

North wears his 1973 World Series ring. He has an autographed baseball on a shelf from good friend Ferguson Jenkins, a Hall of Fame pitcher.

No one could have predicted it on the Central Area sandlots of Seattle, but that made it even more fun.

"I got to live my dream," North said. "With the Lord's blessing, I got to do it."

Most Stolen Bases, Season (Since 1900)

Year   Player, Team                    SB

1982   Rickey Henderson,A's            130
1974   Lou Brock, Cardinals            118
1985   Vince Coleman, Cardinals        110
1987   Vince Coleman, Cardinals        109
1983   Rickey Henderson, A's           108
1986   Vince Coleman, Cardinals        107
1962   Maury Wills, Dodgers            104
1980   Rickey Henderson, A's           100
1980   Ron LeFlore,Expos                97
1915   Ty Cobb, Tigers                  96
1980   Omar Moreno, Pirates             96
1965   Maury Wills, Dodgers             94
1988   Rickey Henderson, Yankees        93
1983   Tim Raines, Expos                90
1912   Clyde Milan, Senators            88
1986   Rickey Henderson, Yankees        87
1911   Ty Cobb, Tigers                  83
1979   Willie Wilson, Royals            83
1910   Eddie Collins, A's               81
1911   Bob Bescher, Reds                81
1988   Vince Coleman, Cardinals         81
1985   Rickey Henderson, Yankees        80
1986   Eric Davis, Reds                 80
1980   Dave Collins, Reds               79
1980   Willie Wilson, Royals            79
1979   Ron LeFlore, Tigers              78
1982   Tim Raines, Expos                78
1992   Marquis Grissom, Expos           78
1975   Davey Lopes, Dodgers             77
1979   Omar Moreno, Pirates             77
1983   Rudy Law, White Sox              77
1989   Rickey Henderson, Yankees/A;s    77
1990   Vince Coleman, Cardinals         77
1909   Ty Cobb, Tigers                  76
1991   Marquis Grissom, Expos           76
1913   Clyde Milan, Senators            75
1976   Bill North, A's                  75
1984   Tim Raines, Expos                75
1996   Kenny Lofton, Indians            75

Players With Most Stolen Bases During 1970s

Player            SB

Lou Brock         551
Joe Morgan        488
Cesar Cedeno      427
Bobby Bonds       380
Davey Lopes       375
Freddie Patek     344
Bert Campaneris   336
Bill North        324
Ron LeFlore       294
Amos Otis         294
Rod Carew         254
Larry Bowa        251
Frank Taveras     248
Don Baylor        240
Mickey Rivers     226
Dave Concepcion   220
Omar Moreno       217
Tommy Harper      200
Garry Maddox      193
Jose Cardenal     180
Jose Cruz         180