Billy Southworth

Birthdate	3/9/1893
Death Date	11/15/1969
Debut Year	1913
Year of Induction	2008
Teams	Braves, Cardinals, Giants, Indians, Pirates
Position	Manager

Billy Southworth led the Cardinals to 106, 105 & 105 games from 1942-44, the only time that a team has won 105+ games in 3 straight seasons.

Since 1900, manager Billy Southworth's .597 winning percentage is 2nd only to that of Joe McCarthy

Billy Southworth managed the Cardinals and Braves for 13 seasons. In the nine full seasons when he was at the helm, Southworth’s teams won four pennants and two World Series titles. His .597 career winning percentage is second only to Joe McCarthy among managers since

Warren Spahn won his first game with the Boston Braves in 1946; Southworth was his manager

Warren Spahn won 363 games, the most of any lefty in baseball history. The first of those came in 1946 for Braves manager Billy Southworth. In the collection is this personal check drafted by Southworth on July 20, 1947. It was his second season as skipper for the Boston Braves. Southworth wrote thi

Before managing, Billy Southworth enjoyed a 13-year MLB playing career

Though known for his success as a manager, Billy Southworth also enjoyed a 13-year big league playing career. An outfielder by trade, Southworth was a solid, if unspectacular hitter. He finished in the league’s top ten in RBI and total bases twice each, in triples and stolen bases four times e

A Story about Billy Southworth

Lifetime passes were the brainchild of NL President Ford Frick; here’s a pictorial history

June 18th, 2016 Leave a comment

A newspaper man turned league publicist turned league president came up with a brilliant idea in 1934 — reward longtime National League players with a lifetime pass to all NL games. Senior Circuit owners approved Ford Frick’s proposal at the league meeting in December of ’34. A few months later, Frick sent out ornately decorated paper Lifetime Passes to the NL’s greatest players. He even sent one to Babe Ruth who appeared in all of 28 games for the Boston Braves in 1935. A 21-year veteran of the American League, the Babe was grateful if not surprised when he remarked, “At least the National League has a heart”. An image of the original paper pass presented to Hall of Fame outfielder Sliding Billy Hamilton can be seen below. A similar pass curiously issued to Stan Coveleski, a lifetime American Leaguer is also shown. Perhaps shamed by Ruth’s remarks, the American League joined forces in 1936 to issue a pass to all Major League contests. Players with twenty or more years of service received a solid gold pass. Seventeen men qualified for the true “golden ticket” — Ruth, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Bill Dahlen, Harry Davis, Red Faber, Walter Johnson, […]