Bill Norman

Who was Bill Norman?

Henry Willis Patrick "Bill" Norman was an American outfielder, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. A longtime minor league player and manager, he is best remembered for his brief term as pilot of the Detroit Tigers in 1958–59.

Norman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and served as a bat boy for the St. Louis Browns as a 12-year-old. He attended St. Louis University and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1929. A right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder, he rose quickly to the Major League level as player, when he was called up to the Chicago White Sox in 1931 after hitting .366 in the Class C Western Association. But he got into only 37 games with the 1931–32 White Sox, batted only .204 in 103 at bats, and would spend the rest of his playing career in the minors, where he batted .303 with 292 home runs in 2,092 games.

Norman led the Class A1 Texas League in runs batted in, and the top-level American Association in home runs. In June 1946, he became manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, then spent five seasons as a manager in the Cleveland Indians farm system, winning consecutive Eastern League pennants with the Wilkes-Barre Barons in 1950–51.