Bill Virdon’s first taste of big league baseball with the Cardinals in 1955 culminated in his selection as the National League Rookie of the Year. Seven months after winning the award, a trade to Pittsburgh changed his life. Virdon found a home in the Steel City and played the remainder of his 12-year career with the Pirates.
The center fielder averaged more than 140 games played in his first 10 years in Pittsburgh. A defensive difference-maker in the 1960 Pirates’ World Series triumph, Virdon also earned a Gold Glove Award in 1962.
After more than a decade in the bigs Virdon hung up his spikes when the Pirates released him in November of ’65 . He stayed in the game as a minor league manager in the Pittsburgh farm system. In ’68 he returned to the majors as a coach under Pirates skipper Larry Shepard.
When Freddie Patek went on the disabled list on July 15th Virdon was pressed into service on the active roster. He appeared in six games, half as a pinch hitter. Twenty-eight months removed from his playing days, he hit a two-run homer in his penultimate big league at bat.
When he left the game as a player for good, his lifetime stats included 1,596 hits, 735 runs, and 502 runs batted in.
Virdon remained on the Pirates coaching staff through the ’71 season before being named manager for ’72. He piloted the Bucs to the Eastern Division championship in his first season. Virdon was fired 136 games into the ’73 season despite his team being just three games out of first place.
The New York Yankees hired him in ’74. Piloting the Yanks was a tall task for Virdon. He inherited a club that finished in fourth-place, 17 games out of first in ’73.
Under Virdon, New York finished second, just two games behind division-winning Baltimore. The performance earned him the American League Manager of the Year Award.
In ’75 he lasted just 104 games before being fired by the third-place New York team in August. The respected baseball man wasn’t out of a job long; the Astros hired him later the same month.
Virdon lasted eight seasons in Houston, earning his second Manger of the Year Award in 1980. He pushed the Astros to the postseason twice and finished second or third in three other campaigns.
His final two years as manager came in Montreal in ’83 and ’84 with the Expos. In 13 years as a skipper, Virdon managed a .519 winning percentage and 995 wins.
From 1985 through 2001 Virdon served as a bench for the Pirates and Astros. After leaving the big leagues he coached in the minors for the Houston and St. Louis. All told, the baseball lifer witnessed 62 spring trainings.
Virdon lived a long and productive life until passing away at age 90 on November 23, 2021.
In the image above are three Topps baseball cards autographed by the career baseball man. The first depicts the Rookie of the Year Award and features the autographs of five winners, Al Dark (1948), Roy Sievers (1949), Walt Dropo (1950), Herb Score (1955), and Virdon (1955). The other two autographed Topps examples are from ’57 and ’58.
Copied Bill Virdons batting stance,baseball bat level with the grond for line drives. Great all around player closer to a Roberto Clemente. Clemente was in a class all by himself.
One of the nicest people I ever met! He is the answer to the following trivia question. who is the only Yankee manager to never win a game in Yankee Stadium?