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
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[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 Chicago 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 but lost all three times. Traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in May, 1941, he helped them win their first pennant that year since 1920.
After playing with the Dodgers from 1941 to 1943, 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 Boston Braves later that year, where he hit even better. He finished out his career as a player-manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947.
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.
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, but with little success - in 1965, the team had its only post-1932 100-loss season under his guidance - 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. His first Baseball Card appearance was in the 1933 Goudey set.
"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.
[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] Year-By-Year Managerial Record
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Pittsburgh Pirates | National League | 61-92 | -- | Pittsburgh Pirates | replaced by Bill Burwell on September 28 | |
| 1964 | Boston Red Sox | American League | 2-0 | 8th | Boston Red Sox | replaced Johnny Pesky (70-90) on October 3 | |
| 1965 | Boston Red Sox | American League | 62-100 | 9th | Boston Red Sox | ||
| 1966 | Boston Red Sox | American League | 64-82 | -- | Boston Red Sox | replaced by Pete Runnels on September 9 |
