Former Rookie of the Year won titles with Pirates
PITTSBURGH — Bill Virdon, the steady centerfielder who won the 1955 National League Rookie of the Year for St. Louis and guided the Houston Astros to three straight postseason appearances as a manager, has died. He was 90.
Mr. Virdon died at the Lester E. Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri, according to Mr. Virdon’s wife, Shirley. No cause of death was given.
Mr. Virdon was a career .267 hitter in 12 seasons with St. Louis and Pittsburgh, winning a World Series in 1960 with the Pirates and a Gold Glove in 1962. He retired in 1968 and went into coaching, going 995-921 during a 13-year managerial career that featured stints with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Houston and Montreal.
His greatest success came during an eightyear run with the Astros from 1975-82, when he led the franchise to its first two postseason appearances, both ending with losses in five games in the best-of-five series. Houston lost to Philadelphia in the 1980 NL Championship Series and to the Dodgers in an NL Division Series prompted by the 1981 players’ strike.
Mr. Virdon was signed by the Yankees in 1950 and traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in April 1954 in a deal that sent star outfielder Enos Slaughter to New York.
The left-handed-hitting Mr. Virdon reached the majors in 1955. Taking over for Hall of Famer Stan Musial in center, Mr. Virdon hit .281 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs.
The Cardinals dealt Virdon to Pittsburgh in May 1955, and he flourished, playing next to Roberto Clemente. Mr. Virdon played a key role in the Pirates’ stunning upset of the Yankees in the 1960 World Series, delivering a pair of hits in Game 7.
Mr. Virdon won a second World Series with Pittsburgh in 1971 while serving as a coach under manager Danny Murtaugh. He replaced Murtaugh in 1972. He was fired before the end of the 1973 season.
He surprisingly found himself as the manager of the Yankees in 1974 after American League president Joe Cronin nixed New York’s attempt to sign Dick Williams from the Oakland Athletics. He found himself out of a job by the middle of 1975 when New York hired Billy Martin.