In 1937, Terre Haute's Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League team, the Tots, a St. Louis Browns' farm club, signed Bildilli, then 24, to his first pro contract.

St. Louis sent him back to San Antonio in 1939, where he helped pitch the Missions into the playoffs by winning 22 games, tied for tops in the Texas League.

Back with the Browns for a third consecutive September stint, he posted two complete games in as many starts and lowered his ERA to 3.32 in 19 innings pitched, setting the stage for his 1940 season, Bildilli's only full year in the major leagues.

The Browns battled back to score two runs in the middle innings, rewarding Bildilli with a two-hit, complete game 2–1 triumph.

[3] After defeating a barnstorming team from the Negro leagues in Fort Wayne on September 14, 1946,[1] he was driving home to Muncie when his car ran off the road and hit a tree.