william joseph buckner (december 14, 1949 – may 27, 2019) was an american professional baseball player. he played as a first baseman in major league baseball (mlb) between 1969 and 1990. during his career, he played for the los angeles dodgers, chicago cubs, boston red sox, california angels and kansas city royals. he won a batting title in 1980. he also represented the cubs at the all-star game in 1981.