On the blog today, we step away from the 1970s and give Major League "lifer" Bill Virdon a career-capping 1969 card to celebrate his very nice Big League tenure:
Virdon
appeared in six games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1968 after last
seeing action in 1965, collecting one hit over three at-bats, the hit
being a home run while picking up two RBIs.
That
would be it for Bill Virdon the "player", before beginning a great
managerial career in the Majors beginning in 1972, when he guided the
Pirates to a 96-win season and a first place finish before losing to the
upstart Cincinnati Reds in the N.L. Playoffs.
As
a player, Virdon was an excellent center fielder for 12 years, winning
the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1955 with the St. Louis Cardinals,
hitting .281 with 150 hits, 17 homers and 68 RBIs before getting traded
to the Pirates the following season, where he would spend the rest of
his playing days.
By
the time he retired as a player, he hit .267 with 1596 hits over 5980
at-bats, scoring 735 runs, driving in 502, and even picking up a Gold
Glove in 1962.
All told as a Major League manager,
Virdon finished with a record of 995 and 921, with two first place
finishes as well as a first place finish in the second half of the 1981
strike season debacle, managing the Pirates, New York Yankees,Houston Astros and Montreal Expos between 1972 and 1984.