Bill Downing was born on October 1, 1951, in San Francisco, CA and was raised in Pacifica. He attended Terra Nova High School before receiving a full athletic scholarship to play baseball at the University of San Francisco. He played shortstop from 1971 to 1973, and earned WCAC honors in his three years as a starter. In 1972, he earned the Oustanding College Athletics of America Award. He graduated with Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology in 1973.
After graduation in 1973, he was drafted in the 4th round (82nd overall) by the Atlanta Braves in 1973. After two years of professional baseball with the Braves' affiliate, he joined the San Francisco Fire Department in 1975, and was stationed at Station 8 on Bluxome Street. He retired at the rank of Lieutenant in 2006. His love for baseball transferred into being a fan of the San Francisco Giants.
He was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 2026.
The second victory for the Dons was one in which hitting dominated play. The Dons pounded out 11 hits and were led by Bill Downing who belted a triple, emptying the bases. Paul O'Leary collected 2 hits and scored two runs for USF. Ken Bowman and Dave Weidinger provided the bullpen strength needed to stop a late surge mounted by Reno. Don Benedetti is at present the 4th leading batter in the league, hitting at a phenomenal .486 (17-35). Bill Downing is in 11th position batting .343 (12-35). Dan Merolla has an outstanding ERA of 1.30 and has one victory as opposed to no losses. As a team, USF is fourth in league play batting .237. However, pitching is where the story can be told as to the dismal year the Diamond Dons have had. In WCAC play the Dons are dead last allowing 5.13 runs to cross the plate every nine innings. It should be noted here that Bill Downing is tied for the leadership in home runs at 2 (TheFoghorn).
