Billy Southworth, Professional Baseball Player & Manager
For many of us, there are few more
pleasant ways to spend a warm, summer
evening than at a baseball game. The
sights, sounds and smells combine in a
unique blend of magic— like a breeze
that alternately soothes and excites the
passions.
William Harold "Billy" Southworth had a
special love for the game. Born 9 March
1893 in Harvard, Nebraska, he made his
major league debut on 4 August 1913 at
the age of 20 with the Cleveland Naps
(later known as the Indians). After only
playing a couple of innings (and never
coming to bat), the left-batting, right-
throwing, 5'9" 170 lb. outfielder was sent
back to the minor leagues where he
played for the Birmingham (Alabama)
Barons the remainder of the season and
for all of 1914. He 1915 he was called
back to the majors and played 60 games
that year. His .220 batting average was
not enough to earn him a permanent
spot on the roster and he was eventually
sent back to the minors, where he spent
the next two years.
Finally, in 1919 he was called up by the
Pittsburgh Pirates where he played in
the outfield with Casey Stengel, the
future coach of the legendary New York
Yankee clubs. He hit .341 that year and
stole 19 bases (never once being thrown
out). He played another two years for the
Pirates, before he went on to play nine
more years for the Boston Braves, New
York Giants (where he played in the
1924 World Series) and St. Louis
Cardinals (where he played in the 1926
World Series).
A solid, all-around player, Billy's lifetime fielding average was .965 and
his lifetime batting average was a respectable .297. He is twelfth on the
all-time list of at bats per strikeout (29.5).
Billy's greatest achievements, however, came as a coach, where he
had the distinction of being the only National League coach to win more
than a hundred games in three consecutive seasons. Twice he was
named Top Major League Manager (1941 and 1942) and won a total of
four National League pennants (three of those were for the St. Louis
Cardinals, 1942-1944 and one more with the Boston Braves in 1948).
In 1942, with help from his young slugger, Stan Musial, his club beat
Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Stan
Musial
Stan Hart, a writer who won Emmys for his work on the "Carol Burnett
Show" (and was also a frequent contributor to Mad Magazine), wrote
about an encounter he had with Billy Southworth in 1947.
"In my freshman year at CCNY, I had a tryout with the then Boston
Braves. I was flown up to Boston and gave it my all at the old Braves
Field. I bounced the ball off the right field wall and put the ball deep in
the right and left field alleys. Even I was impressed. They hit fungoes to
me in the outfield and my pegs were right on the money. So far, so
good. 'I could get used to living in Boston.' I felt. Then it happened. We
had wind sprints. Old Leadfoot Hart came in dead last. 'Come up to the
office,' I was instructed. Maybe Boston wouldn't be such a nice place to
live, after all.
In those days, 1947, Billy Southworth was the manager of the Braves
after having enjoyed great success with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was
obsessed with speed. And it always paid off for Southworth. The year
he left the Cards, they won the pennant and in the World Series of
1946, under new manager Eddie Kyer, Southworth's former players ran
the Sox nuts, winning the seventh game when Enos Slaughter went all
the way home on a single. I had some chance with a Southworth
organization.
In the Braves' office, Mr. Southworth had praise for my hitting and
fielding and inquired if what he saw when he watched me run was as
fast as I could go. I said yes because I lacked the self confidence to tell
him that what he saw was the fastest I had ever run in my life. He told
me there was no major league destiny for me and advised that I
complete my college education and the Braves would keep tabs on me.
They did, but at CCNY I was converted to a pitcher, despite my batting,
for obvious reasons. I didn't have a lot of promise and the Braves wrote
me off. It was the smartest thing they did until they moved to Milwaukee
and took all that municipal money [and] before they once again
decamped for Atlanta for more city bucks."
Billy died on 15 November 1969 in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 76.
Just this year he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
