BILL VIRDON (Manager)
"Virdon was named Yankee pilot in January after American League President Joe Cronin disallowed the signing of Dick Williams.
'I'm the manager of the Yankees now,' he says, 'and I don't care if I was the first choice, second choice or fifteenth choice.' Bill signed a one-year pact, leaving the Williams possibility open for the Yanks in '75. He was fired by the Pirates during the team's stretch run in the National League East last year in his second season as Pittsburgh manager.
'I think if I didn't get fired, we would have won it,' he says. Bill had run-ins in Pittsburgh with Rich Hebner and Dock Ellis. He won the division in his first year as Pirate mentor. He learned managing under Danny Murtaugh.
'The biggest thing I learned sitting next to Danny was patience.'
An outfielder, he was National League Rookie of the Year in 1955 with St. Louis and was traded to Pittsburgh the following year. He compiled a .267 average in 12 seasons. Bill was a minor league manager and a Pirate coach.
He began his career in the Yankee chain."
-Peter Gammons, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1974 Edition
"When the Yankees went after a manager who was a winner - Bill Virdon was the man they turned to.
As Pittsburgh manager, Bill led the Pirates to the 1972 Eastern Division Championship, and last season had the club two games out of first when Danny Murtaugh returned to manage the club. The availability of Bill came at the right time for Yankee fortunes.
A star outfielder with Pittsburgh from 1956-65, Bill played in the famous 1960 World Series against the Yankees. But his tie to New York is deeper than that - Bill signed his first professional contract with the Yankees in 1950 - his scout was Mickey Mantle's scout Tom Greenwade - and remained in the Yankee Organization until 1954 when he and current coach Mel Wright were traded to St. Louis for Enos Slaughter.
And now Bill Virdon is back - with a career of successes behind him, and looking forward to future triumphs with the Yankees."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"Originally signed for the Yankee organization by one of their most famous scouts, Tom Greenwade, in 1950, Virdon was traded to St. Louis with pitcher Mel Wright (now a Yankee coach) and outfielder Emil Tellinger for Enos Slaughter in 1954. The Cardinals sent him to their AAA club at Rochester where he led the International League in batting with a .333 average, and had 22 homers and 98 RBIs. Bill joined the Cardinals in 1955, earning selection as the Sporting News N.L. Rookie of the Year, batting .281 with 17 homers.
Virdon was traded to the Pirates on May 17, 1956 and had his only .300 season in the major leagues - .319 with 10 homers in a league-leading 157 games; only Hank Aaron topped him in the NL that year with a .328 average. Bill remained as a regular for the Pirates through 1965, establishing himself as one of the best center fielders in the big leagues. He was an instrumental part of the 1960 club which copped the NL flag and went on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series, and hit the famous bad-hop grounder to Tony Kubek which helped decide the 7th game in that Series.
Upon completion of his playing career in 1965, Bill went on to manage in the Mets' farm system at Williamsport in 1966 and Jacksonville in 1967, helping to develop such players as Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw, Jerry Koosman, Ken Boswell and Ken Singleton. He re-joined the Pirates as a coach in 1968 and by 1971 had become the right-hand man and heir apparent to Danny Murtaugh, who retired following the Pirates' 1971 World Championship. Bill succeeded Murtaugh in '72 and guided the Pirates to their third consecutive Eastern Division championship, losing to the Reds in the five-game postseason playoffs.
Last year Virdon had the Pirates in the thick of the race for their fourth straight title when he was replaced by Murtaugh in hopes of sparking the team on to the pennant; the move failed, however, as the Mets captured the division.
Bill has also managed in Winter Ball, leading San Juan to the Puerto Rican League championship in the winter of 1971. Most recently, he was hired to manage Denver (PCL) for the '74 season, but the Yankee offer, with permission from the parent Astros, brought Bill back to the major leagues."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"No one worked any harder in spring training than the new Yankee manager, Bill Virdon, who hit fungoes, put on a fielding mitt, pitched batting practice and supervised the most extensive drilling the Yankees have been through in many years.
Virdon was a star center fielder for the Cardinals and Pirates from 1955 to 1965."
-1974 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Program
ELSTON HOWARD (Coach)
"Elston Howard, the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1963, is in his sixth year as the Yankees first base coach, following a great career which covered ten World Series. A year-round resident of the New York area, Ellie is one of the most popular men ever to ever wear the Yankee uniform."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"Elston, on the exclusive list of great Yankee players, is one of the most recognized and popular Yankees among baseball fans everywhere. Now in his sixth season as a coach, he was a Yankee player for 13 seasons.
Howard was named the American League's MVP in 1963 and won the Babe Ruth Award in 1958 (top World Series player). Originally an outfielder when the Yanks acquired him from the famous Kansas City Monarchs, Ellie was converted to a catcher and led that position in fielding in 1962, 1963 and 1964. An All-Star nine times, he played in ten World Series, nine with the Yankees and one with the Red Sox, who acquired him in August, 1967.
He was the first player with the Yankees and also the first black coach in the American League. Ellie has established many business interests, including an art gallery, in New Jersey. He has served on the Bergen County Board of Vocational and Technical Education.
This is Ellie's 20th season in a big league uniform."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
WHITEY FORD (Coach)
"Whitey returns to full time duty on the Yankee coaching staff this year - his year of election to the Hall of Fame. The winningest pitcher in Yankee history and in World Series history, Whitey was player-coach in 1964 and first base coach in 1968, serving in recent years as a spring training instructor. He not only knows pitching as well as anyone, but he knows the Yankee staff and the Yankee tradition of greatness."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"The winningest pitcher in Yankee history was voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame with his long-time friend and teammate Mickey Mantle on January 16. Together they become the 20th and 21st Yankees to enter the game's pantheon.
His 236 victories against only 106 defeats gives him the highest won-lost percentage (.690) in the game's history among pitchers with 200 or more wins and only former Yankee Spud Chandler's .717 tops Whitey among 100-game winners. He has a club record 1,956 strikeouts.
Whitey holds World Series marks for total Series, games pitched, innings, victories, strikeouts and, of course, consecutive shutout innings (33.2 - the record breaking the earlier mark of Babe Ruth's). He won the Cy Young Award in 1961 and was American League Pitcher of the Year in 1955, 1961 and 1963. He hurled consecutive one-hitters in 1955. Circulation problems in his left arm brought his distinguished career to a premature end.
Whitey has served annually as a spring training coach and also as a pitching coach, first base signalman and color broadcaster. His son Eddie plays shortstop for Bobby Richardson's University of South Carolina nine."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
MEL WRIGHT (Coach)
"Mel Wright joins the Yankee coaching staff this year as bullpen coach. He is reunited with his longtime buddy, Bill Virdon, for whom he served as pitching coach in Pittsburgh. Originally a Yankee prospect, Mel was traded along with Virdon for Enos Slaughter in 1954 - and now returns with his skipper to help guide Yankee fortunes."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"Twenty-five years after signing with the Yankee organization as a right-handed pitching prospect, Mel Wright joins the Yanks as Manager Bill Virdon's bullpen coach. Pirate pitching coach last season, Wright had signed with the Chicago Cubs for 1974, but the Cubs made him available to the Yankees when Virdon was named manager.
Originally signed late in 1949 by Yankee scout Atley Donald (still a Yankee scout), Wright reported to a Yankee minor league camp in 1950 with Virdon, Mickey Mantle and other prospects. He once set the Eastern League record with a 1.93 ERA. Mel won 16 games in a row after recuperating from a broken hand in 1953, 13 in the regular season, two in the playoffs and one in the Little World Series for Kansas City of the American Association. He was traded to the Cardinals in the spring of 1954 with Virdon and Emil Tellinger for Enos Slaughter.
Mel scouted five years for the Cubs and coached three years in the rotating coaches (managers)."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
DICK HOWSER (Coach)
"Dick Howser, a brilliant shortstop during his playing career of 1961-68, was the Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 1961, and finished his active playing days with the Yankees. When Frankie Crosetti left the Yankees after 22 years as third base coach, Dick was a natural successor, and he's now in his sixth year at the post. Dick also manages the Yankees' Instructional League team each fall in Florida."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"1974 will be Dick's sixth straight season as the Yanks' third base coach. He has also served as manager of the Yankees' Florida Instructional League club during the past two off-seasons. Dick joined the Yankee staff in 1969 after spending two seasons with the club as a utility infielder and pinch hitter.
Howser reached the major leagues with Kansas City in 1961 and was named Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News as well as being selected to the All-Star team. He was a heady and flashy player who stole 37 bases that rookie season."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
MICKEY MANTLE (Special Instructor)
"Mantle is only the seventh player in baseball history to be elected to the Hall of Fame the first time he was eligible. With sidekick and teammate Whitey Ford, together they become the 20th and 21st Yankees in the Hall of Fame.
Mickey has appeared annually since his retirement after the 1968 season as a Special Instructor in spring training and serves the Yankees as a good will ambassador throughout the year.
His 18-year career was one of the most dramatic in Yankee history. With injuries to both legs taking a heavy toll from his magnificent performances, Mickey played in more games with the Yankees (2,401) and had more at bats (8,102) than any other player. He was the most powerful switch-hitter in the game's history. Ten times he hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game, a major league record. His 18 home runs in World Series play easily topped Babe Ruth's previous World Series high of 15. Mickey was American League MVP in 1956, 1957 and 1962. He won the Triple Crown in '56, and also the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year in 1956.
Mickey ranks high in most offensive all-time Yankee categories: third in runs scored (1,677), third in hits (2,415), fourth in doubles (344), second in homers (536) and fourth in RBIs (1,509). His 1,734 walks are third on the all-time list and his 1,710 strikeouts are first.
Mickey is one of the most popular athletes in modern sports history."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"The greatest switch-hitter of all time appeared in 16 summer classics. Mickey Mantle hit a total of 536 home runs, many of them of the tape-measure variety; and on two occasions he came closer than any other player to hitting a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. Mickey played 18 seasons on decimated knees, setting an example in courage for athletes in all sports; and he is the most recent inductee [along with former Yankee teammate Whitey Ford] into Baseball's Hall of Fame."
-1974 All-Star Game official program
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