Profile

William Harold "Billy" Southworth

For many of us, there are few more pleasant ways to spend a warm, summer evening than at a baseball game. The sights, sounds and smells combine in a unique blend of magic— like a breeze that alternately soothes and excites the passions.

William Harold "Billy" Southworth had a special love for the game. Born 9 March 1893 in Harvard, Nebraska, he made his major league debut on 4 August 1913 at the age of 20 with the Cleveland Naps (later known as the Indians). After only playing a couple of innings (and never coming to bat), the left-batting, right-throwing, 5'9" 170 lb. outfielder was sent back to the minor leagues where he played for the Birmingham (Alabama) Barons the remainder of the season and for all of 1914. He 1915 he was called back to the majors and played 60 games that year. His .220 batting average was not enough to earn him a permanent spot on the roster and he was eventually sent back to the minors, where he spent the next two years.

Finally, in 1919 he was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates where he played in the outfield with Casey Stengel, the future coach of the legendary New York Yankee clubs. He hit .341 that year and stole 19 bases (never once being thrown out). He played another two years for the Pirates, before he went on to play nine more years for the Boston Braves, New York Giants (where he played in the 1924 World Series) and St. Louis Cardinals (where he played in the 1926 World Series).

A solid, all-around player, Billy's lifetime fielding average was .965 and his lifetime batting average was a respectable .297. He is twelfth on the all-time list of at bats per strikeout (29.5).

Billy's greatest achievements, however, came as a coach, where he had the distinction of being the only National League coach to win more than a hundred games in three consecutive seasons. Twice he was named Top Major League Manager (1941 and 1942) and won a total of four National League pennants (three of those were for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1942-1944 and one more with the Boston Braves in 1948). In 1942, with help from his young slugger, Stan Musial, his club beat Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees to win the World Series.

Stan Hart, a writer who won Emmys for his work on the "Carol Burnett Show" (and was also a frequent contributor to Mad Magazine), wrote about an encounter he had with Billy Southworth in 1947.

"In my freshman year at CCNY, I had a tryout with the then Boston Braves. I was flown up to Boston and gave it my all at the old Braves Field. I bounced the ball off the right field wall and put the ball deep in the right and left field alleys. Even I was impressed. They hit fungoes to me in the outfield and my pegs were right on the money. So far, so good. 'I could get used to living in Boston.' I felt. Then it happened. We had wind sprints. Old Leadfoot Hart came in dead last. 'Come up to the office,' I was instructed. Maybe Boston wouldn't be such a nice place to live, after all.

In those days, 1947, Billy Southworth was the manager of the Braves after having enjoyed great success with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was obsessed with speed. And it always paid off for Southworth. The year he left the Cards, they won the pennant and in the World Series of 1946, under new manager Eddie Kyer, Southworth's former players ran the Sox nuts, winning the seventh game when Enos Slaughter went all the way home on a single. I had some chance with a Southworth organization.

In the Braves' office, Mr. Southworth had praise for my hitting and fielding and inquired if what he saw when he watched me run was as fast as I could go. I said yes because I lacked the self confidence to tell him that what he saw was the fastest I had ever run in my life. He told me there was no major league destiny for me and advised that I complete my college education and the Braves would keep tabs on me. They did, but at CCNY I was converted to a pitcher, despite my batting, for obvious reasons. I didn't have a lot of promise and the Braves wrote me off. It was the smartest thing they did until they moved to Milwaukee and took all that municipal money [and] before they once again decamped for Atlanta for more city bucks."

Billy died on 15 November 1969 in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 76. Just this year he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Billy was the son of Orlando Southworth, who was the son of Calvin Southworth (b. 1829 in Ohio). If you have any information on the ancestry of Calvin Southworth, please contact Bill Southworth via e-mail at SWhit88403@aol.com or in care of this newsletter.