Baseball Cards

Pre-War 1948 to 1959 1960s 1970s 1980s to Present

Football Cards

1930s to 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s to Present

Other Cards

Basketball Cards Soccer Cards Hockey Cards Boxing Cards Non-Sports Cards Reprint Cards Autographs

Sets

Complete Sets Starter & Near Sets Team Sets & Lots Reprint Sets

Magazines

Sports Illustrated (SI) The Sporting News (TSN) Sports Magazines MLB Team Publications Programs & Tickets

Wax Packs & Wrappers Gift Certificates

Baseball Cards

Pre-War 1948 to 1959 1960s 1970s 1980s to Present

Football Cards

1930s to 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s to Present

Other Cards

Basketball Cards Soccer Cards Hockey Cards Boxing Cards Non-Sports Cards Reprint Cards Autographs

Sets

Complete Sets Starter & Near Sets Team Sets & Lots Reprint Sets

Magazines

Sports Illustrated (SI) The Sporting News (TSN) Sports Magazines MLB Team Publications Programs & Score Cards

Wax Packs & Wrappers Gift Certificates

Bill Virdon

William Charles Virdon (born June 9, 1931 in Hazel Park, Michigan) is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days (1955–65) as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates (winning a Gold Glove in 1962), Virdon also had a long tenure in the major leagues as a manager, with the Pirates (1972–73), New York Yankees (1974–75), Houston Astros (1975–82), and Montreal Expos (1983–84). 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 (who threw right-handed), Virdon's career batting average was .267 with 91 home runs during his 1,583-game NL career. He was the starting center fielder on the 1960 world champion Pirates, batting .241 in seven World Series games. His ground ball in Game 7 took a bad hop and struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, enabling Virdon to reach base and the Pirates to mount a furious rally in a game (and series) eventually won by Bill Mazeroski's dramatic home run.

As a manager, he led the Pirates to the 1972 NL East title, but the Buccos dropped the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds when Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Moose unleashed a wild pitch in the final inning of Game 5, allowing the winning run to score. His 1980 Astros won the NL West championship, but fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in a five-game NLCS. His career managerial record, over all or parts of 13 seasons, was 995–921 (.519). He also served three different terms as a Pirates coach. He has the unusual distinction of having been replaced on two separate occasions by the manager he replaced; in Montreal (Jim Fanning) and in Pittsburgh (Danny Murtaugh).

Currently Bill lives in Springfield, Missouri, and serves as a special outfield instructor for the Pirates during spring training.

A part of the U.S. 63 business route in West Plains, Missouri, where Virdon spent his teenage years and played ball for West Plains High School, is named Bill Virdon Boulevard.

He was nicknamed "Quail" for his style of hits in the Major Leagues.

Hide Sets

Showing 1 to 41 of 41 products.

Page Size: 100 1000

Page : 1

#296 Bill Virdon (ROOKIE ROYw)

View All + Want

1955 Bowman Baseball Cards

Cardinals

Qty

View All + Want

PSA 6 - EX/MT

$190

$171 after 10% discount

Other Cards

More

Other Cards

More

Bill Virdon

Report this card

Thank you for your report.