On the blog today, a 1975 dedicated manager card for Bill Virdon, who came in and led the New York Yankees to a second place finish in 1974:
Virdon
replaced Ralph Houk as manager of the Yankees and led them to a 89-73
record, just two games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the A.L. East.
Of
course we all know now that this was the beginning of the Yankee
resurgence, which would eventually lead to them taking home the
championship in both 1977 and 1978, after a World Series berth in 1976
that saw them lose to the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds.
For
Virdon, he would be let go in 1975 after 104 games with a record of
53-51, giving way to Billy Martin's first term as Yankee manager, while
Virdon would be immediately hired by the Houston Astros, where he'd go
17-17 the rest of the way.
He'd
manage the Astros another eight seasons before moving on to the
Montreal Expos in 1983 and 1984, managing a total of 13 seasons, winning
995 games against 921 losses.
As a player he was equally as solid,
winning the Rookie of the Year in 1955 when he hit .281 with 17 homers
and 68 runs batted in for the St. Louis Cardinals, while picking up a
Gold Glove in 1962 for his defensive work out in centerfield for the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
Over his 12 year playing career spanning
1955 to 1968, Virdon hit .267 with 1596 hits in 5980 at-bats over 1583
games, scoring 735 runs while driving in 502.