Bill Virdon

Who is Bill Virdon?

William Charles Virdon is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, Virdon also had a long tenure in the major leagues as a manager, with the Pirates, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Montreal Expos. He was the American League Manager of the Year in 1974, his only full season working for the Yankees of George Steinbrenner. Bill also was named National League Manager of the Year in 1980 while with the Houston Astros.

Virdon initially signed with the Yankees, but he never played for the big league club. As a minor league prospect, he was traded to the Cardinals in a multi-player deal before the 1954 season for veteran outfielder Enos Slaughter, now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After one more year of seasoning in the minors, Virdon joined the Cardinals in 1955 and was named National League Rookie of the Year. He was traded to Pittsburgh in May 1956.

A left-handed batter, Virdon's career batting average was .267 with 91 home runs during his 1,583-game NL career.