Today’s iteration of our birthday series brings us to an unusual spot relative to some of the entries thus far. With limited options of players born on June 9th, we instead will be celebrating and looking back on Bill Virdon, a solid player, but a man who made his mark on the Yankees in a managerial role.
A 12-year big league veteran, and winner of multiple awards over the course of his career, his time in the game was far from insignificant. With the Yankees, his chapter is rather short, though there
is still plenty to look back on with regard to the career of Virdon.
Bill Virdon
Born: June 9, 1931 (Hazel Park, MI)
Died: November 23, 2021 (Springfield, MO)
Yankees Tenure: 1950-53 (minors); 1974-75 (manager)
Born during the Great Depression in Michigan, Bill Virdon actually kicked off his professional baseball career with the Yankees, signing a contract with the club prior to the 1950 season and peaking with a .317/.381/.439 showing in 42 games with the Double-A Birmingham Barons in 1953. A promotion to Triple-A Kansas City didn’t go as well though, and before making it to The Show, he was gone. Virdon was dealt away in the deal that brought veteran bench bat Enos Slaughter to New York leading up to the 1954 campaign.
A year later, the acquisition would pan out for the Cards. In 1955, Virdon broke onto the scene with a 17-homer season and a .281/.322/.433 slash line that was good enough for National League Rookie of the Year honors. His sophomore campaign was even better, splitting time with St. Louis and, following a mid-season trade, the Pirates.
Virdon would actually spend the rest of his playing days in a Pittsburgh uniform, starting his tenure there with a rather impressive stretch. He was consistent and an above-average contributor for the Buccos, as he put up at least 2.0 bWAR in every season with the Pirates through 1960, as a slightly below-average hitter with a good glove in the outfield. Along with several others, Virdon was part of a formidable defensive unit for Pittsburgh in 1960, a team that beat the Yankees in that year’s World Series. He had two hits in the Game 7 stunner, including an infamous infield single that hit a pebble and struck Tony Kubek in the throat, helping spark a five-run rally in the eighth before teammate Bill Mazeroski’s memorable shot.
Although his overall production waned as he entered his 30s, Virdon won a Gold Glove Award in 1962, and remained with the club through the mid-’60s. His playing career came to a close after a brief six-game cameo with the club in 1968 at the age of 37. By the time his retirement came around, Virdon had already spent time as a minor league manager, and as a player-coach with the Pirates, serving as a precursor to the rest of his time in the baseball world.
Post-retirement, Virdon immediately got in on the coaching game, and would reach the top of the hill in the 1972 season. That year, he was hired as the manager of his old Pirates club, and he kicked off his tenure on a good note, winning their division before losing the NLCS to the Reds that season. He was the manager during Roberto Clemente’s tragic passing, and eventually lost his job after a middling start to the 1973 season.
For the 1974 campaign, George Steinbrenner brought him on board to manage the Yankees, replacing the burnt-out Ralph Houk. Virdon once again got things kicked off successfully. That year, Virdon captured his first Sporting News Manager of the Year award, leading the Yankees to a 89-73 record after a sub-.500 showing in ’73.
Virdon got the Bombers off to a fine start in 1975, but his time as the head honcho was cut short when the skipper who would become Steinbrenner’s main man suddenly hit the market. After being fired by the Rangers, Billy Martin came on to become the new Yankees manager mid-season (his first stint), obviously resulting in Virdon being let go.
That wasn’t the end of his managerial career, however, as he latched on to the Astros job during that same season, and never looked back. Virdon would spend eight seasons as Houston’s manager, and although they were mediocre to begin his time there, they eventually won a division title in Game 163 of 1980, netting him another Manager of the Year Award. Both distinctions were the second such of his managerial career. In the Astros’ first foray into postseason play, they took a 2-1 NLCS lead over the Phillies, only to drop back-to-back games in extras at the Astrodome to concede the pennant to the Phils. They returned to October play as second-half champs in the split-season of ’81, but for the second year in a row, the eventual champs knocked them out as the Dodgers enacted their vengeance for losing in 1980.
Dismissed following an ugly start to ’82, Virdon wrapped up his time on the big league stage with two years as the manager of the Expos from 1983 to ‘84, finishing just around .500 in Montreal. He would spend further time on Major League coaching staffs, but would never again be a manager.
On the whole, it was a successful run for Virdon in baseball, as a 12-year career, Rookie of the Year Award, and multiplte Manager of the Year Awards are not things everyone can boast. Although his time with the Yankees was minimal, his mark would be hard to deny as a baseball-lifer, and a pretty good one at that.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
