| SIGNER: Bill Virdon APPROXIMATE SIZE: 3"x5" MARKS / STAMPING: Hand-signed by Bill Virdon ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Original COMMENTS / CONDITION: As with all of my signed items, the signature is guaranteed to pass further inspection by any major authenticator, or your money back. See scans for signature quality and photo condition. BIO: William Charles Virdon was born in 1931 in Hazel Park, MI and died in 2021 in Springfield, MO. He played major league baseball from 1955 to 1968 as outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and appeared in the 1960 World Series. Virdon was the 1955 National League Rookie of the Year. Following the 1965 season, Virdon was released by the Pirates and joined the New York Mets organization as a minor league manager. He led the Williamsport Mets in 1966 and the Jacksonville Suns in 1967 before rejoining the Pittsburgh Pirates as a player-coach in 1968. He became a full-time coach for the club the following season. In 1972, Virdon became the Pirates manager, and he led the team to an NL East division title, losing the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds. However, star Roberto Clemente was killed in a plane crash during the offseason, and the club played sub-.500 ball the following year, costing Virdon his job late in the season. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hired him to manage his team in 1975, and under his leadership, New York improved from fourth to second place. Yet once again, he did not last long as skipper. During his second season at the helm, he was fired by Steinbrenner and replaced by Billy Martin in the first of his many stints as Yankees manager. Less than a month after being fired by the Yankees, Virdon was hired by the Houston Astros to replace Preston Gomez as manager, remaining in that position until 1982 when the Astros fell to fifth place and Virdon was let go late in the season. He became manager of the Montreal Expos in 1983, but after a year and a half at the helm, he was replaced by Jim Fanning. He eventually returned to the Pirates as a coach in 1986 and spent time as the organization's roving outfield instructor. He later was a Astros coach in 1997 and a member of the Pirates staff again in 2001 and 2002. SKU: CL01761
Item: CL01761
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