Bill Bordley
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William Clarke Bordley (born January 9, 1958) is an American former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
with the San Francisco Giants. Bordley was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2011, he was named vice president for Major League Baseball Security investigations. Bordley was a presidential Secret Service agent, assigned to the White House, from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, he was promoted to attaché agent-in-charge to Russia at the American embassy in Moscow. Bordley is the president of WCB International.net, an international financial security company.


High school and college career

Bordley attended
Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. ...
in
Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
. While there he set school records in
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
,
strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
, wins and
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
that still stand as of 2020. Bordley is a two time California Player of the Year and high school All American, who led the Knights to the 1975 Max Prep National Championship at Dodger Stadium. His baseball jersey was retired by the school and he was featured on 8 Million Wheatie Boxes. Upon graduation, Bordley was selected by the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
in the first round (4th pick overall) of the 1976
Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...
. Bordley was drafted ahead of future Major League Baseball All-Stars such as Jack Morris,
Ken Landreaux Kenneth Francis Landreaux (born December 22, 1954) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 through 1987. Play ...
,
Leon Durham Leon "Bull" Durham (born July 31, 1957) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham was a longtime minor league hitting coach, and most recently served as the assistant hitting coa ...
,
Pat Tabler Patrick Sean Tabler (born February 2, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. After retiring from professional baseball, he became a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television networks TSN and S ...
,
Bruce Hurst Bruce Vee Hurst (born March 24, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is best remembered for his performance for the Boston Red Sox in the postseason, where he won two games while allowing only two r ...
,
Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia ( ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe" (Spanish for "The Boss"), is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Los A ...
, Mike Scott,
Alan Trammell Alan Stuart Trammell ( ; born February 21, 1958) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the Detroit Tigers for the entirety of his 20-year p ...
and
Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...
. Bordley elected to forego the Majors, however, to attend the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
. In his freshman year with the
USC Trojans baseball The USC Trojans baseball program represents the University of Southern California in college baseball. Established in 1888 in baseball, 1888, the team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pac-12 Conference, Big Ten ...
team, Bordley went undefeated with a 14–0 win–loss record and led the
Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
in strikeouts and wins. His freshman strikeout record would stand until broken by
Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the San Francisco Giants. A two-time Cy Young Award ...
in 2004. In 1977 Bordley was named the Pacific 8 Athlete of the Year ahead of USC’s football Charles White and UCLA’s basketball David Greenwood. His 26–2 win loss record remains best in USC history. Bordley led the Trojans to the
1978 College World Series The 1978 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1978 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series ...
and subsequently the
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team College World Series, Men's College World Series (MCWS) at Charles Schwa ...
in the same year. Bordley started and won the final game of the 1978 College World Series, shutting out Arizona State University into the 8th inning. Bordley received American Baseball Coaches Association and Sporting News First Team All-American honors in 1977 and 1978, becoming the only Trojan to be named first team All American twice. In 2014, Bordley joined Rod Dedeaux, Fred Lynn, Rich Dauer, Steve Kemp and Roy Smalley as USC's six inductees to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.


Professional career

After his collegiate career, MLB Commissioner
Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for M ...
, found the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...
guilty of tampering with Bordley, prior to the January 1979 MLB draft. A subsequent MLB investigation allowed Bordley's rights to the San Francisco Giants. He joins
Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...
as the only two MLB players ever having the Commissioner allow a player a special lottery. He signed a Major League Contract and a then record $250,000 signing bonus. In 1981, MLBPA President Marvin Miller, won an arbitration case supporting Bordley's contention that his Major League contract and bonus were salary, resulting in additional accrued pension benefits. After only one year in the minors, the Giants promoted Bordley to the Major Leagues and put him in their starting rotation, joining Vida Blue, as left handed starters. Bordley's debut with the Giants was on June 30, 1980. He appeared in the game as the Giants
starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
against the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
. He registered a
strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...
against the first batter faced, Reds
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
Dave Collins. Bordley would go on to give up 3 runs over 6
inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...
s to earn the
win Win or WIN most likely refers to: * A victory Win, Winning, WIN or Winner may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), 2021 * WIN (pacifist magazine) * WIN (wrestling ma ...
over Reds
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
and future
Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...
. He also collected his first Major League hit off Seaver. Bordley would also tally a strike out against
Johnny Bench Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from to , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the ...
, another future Hall of Famer. In Bordley's second start in Cincinnati, he surrendered a historic home run to Bench, tying Yogi Berra for all time home runs by a catcher. Bordley won his first two starts against the Reds and in his 3rd start in Pittsburgh, held the World Champion Pirates to 1 earned run in 7 innings. Bordley had multiple Tommy John surgeries later in 1980-1981 and was on the Major League disabled list for most of the 1981 and 1982 seasons, never to return to the Major Leagues. He was released following a comeback attempt in the Giants
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
system in 1982. In 1983, Atlanta Braves Manager, Joe Torre, invited Bordley to Major League Spring Training.


Post-baseball career

After his MLB playing career, Bordley returned to USC where he earned his finance degree as a dean's list student, while serving as the USC pitching coach. In 1988, he joined the
United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...
as a special agent. He served years on President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's detail. Bordley was compelled, via subpoena, to testify through the Office of Independent Counsel headed by
Ken Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who as independent counsel authored the Starr Report, which served as the basis of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of mem ...
, in the matter concerning the president and White House intern,
Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...
. In 2002, he was promoted to Resident Attaché Agent in Charge for the Secret Service at the American embassy in Moscow. He was in charge of all presidential and vice presidential security operations in visits to Russia. He accompanied Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
, on numerous visits to the United States, coordinating with
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
counterparts. Bordley provided oversight on top secret investigations, including the
counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
of United States currency, fraudulent international banking operations and protection assignments in over 50 countries. Bordley was assigned to Germany when
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
occurred and investigated numerous terrorist cells out of
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. He is conversant in the German language and maintains top secret clearance. Shortly after the
2011 World Series The 2011 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 Major League Baseball season, 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Le ...
MLB Commissioner
Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the commissioner emeritus of baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth commissioner of baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...
named Bordley chief of security, officially Vice President of Security and Facility Management. He is a staunch proponent for the extension of security nets around all MLB stadiums and worked with MLB players and executives in efforts to implement this. Selig first met Bordley in 1976 when his Milwaukee Brewers drafted Bordley. Bordley is a Roman Catholic and a member of the Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC).


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bordley, Bill 1958 births USC Trojans baseball players San Francisco Giants players Living people Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Los Angeles United States Secret Service agents Major League Baseball executives All-American college baseball players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Fresno Giants players Phoenix Giants players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players Bishop Montgomery High School alumni American expatriates in Russia