Billy Herman
From BR Bullpen
William Jennings Bryan Herman
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut August 29, 1931
- Final Game August 1, 1947
- Born July 7, 1909 in New Albany, IN USA
- Died September 5, 1992 in West Palm Beach, FL USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1975
[edit] Biographical Information
Hall of Fame second baseman Billy Herman played 15 years in the major leagues and was a perennial All-Star. He was in the top five in MVP voting three times.
Herman came up with the 1931 Cubs (whose player-manager was the great second baseman Rogers Hornsby) and spent most of his career with the Cubs, who went to the World Series in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Traded to the 1941 Dodgers in May, 1941, he helped the Dodgers win their first pennant that year since 1920.
After playing with the Dodgers from 1941-43, Herman entered the Navy in March 1944 and was discharged in December 1945. Coming back to the Dodgers in 1946, he played well but was traded to the 1946 Boston Braves, where he hit even better. He finished out his career with the 1947 Pirates.
Herman didn't usually lead the league in offensive categories but he was often in the top ten, as indicated by his Gray Ink score of 134.
He was player-manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates for most of the 1947 season. After his playing days ended, he was a Brooklyn Dodgers coach from 1952 to 1957 and a member of the Milwaukee Braves staff in 1958 and 1959. He became a Boston Red Sox coach in 1960 and took over as their manager late in the 1964 season. After managing the Red Sox for almost two years, he was a California Angels coach in 1967 and a member of the San Diego Padres staff in 1978 and 1979.
Herman was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. His granddaugher, Cheri, is Indiana First Lady, the wife of Governor Mitch Daniels.
"If I were managing a team, I'd never let my catcher give signals with Herman on second base. I'd have some other player give them. But even then I couldn't bet Billy wouldn't steal them." - Larry MacPhail.
- First Baseball Card appearance 1933 Goudey
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 10-time NL All-Star (1934-1943)
- NL Hits Leader (1935)
- NL Doubles Leader (1935)
- NL Triples Leader (1939)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1943)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 5 (1932, 1935-1937 & 1939)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1932, 1935 & 1936)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1975
| Preceded by Spud Davis | Pittsburgh Pirates Manager 1947 | Succeeded by Bill Burwell |
| Preceded by Johnny Pesky | Boston Red Sox Manager 1964-1966 | Succeeded by Pete Runnels |
[edit] Related Sites
Veterans of Wars who are Baseball Hall of Fame Members
Video: Herman and other Indiana Hall of Famers honored by the Indianapolis Indians
