Books and articles about Bill McKechnie

Deacon Bill was what is known as "a sound baseball man." He was an unexceptional player; his knowledge of the game exceeded his physical ability. In 1913 Yankee manager Frank Chance played him at second base despite his deficiencies because, he said, McKechnie "knew more baseball than all the rest of my team put together." McKechnie had a checkered career as a utility infielder. Between 1912 and 1916, he played for eight teams, including a one-game stint with the Braves. His two Federal League seasons (1914-15) were his most productive. Sold to the Giants when the Feds collapsed, he was included in the July 1916 trade that sent Hall of Famers Edd Roush and worn-out Christy Mathewson to the Reds for Buck Herzog and Wade Killefer.

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Managing was his forte. He won pennants in three cities - a record that has never been matched. His first trial as a manager came at age 29, with the Newark Peps (FL) for 102 games in 1915. He succeeded George Gibson at Pittsburgh in mid-1922 and brought the club from fifth place to a tie for third. In 1925 he won his first pennant and defeated the Senators in the World Series, but was fired a year later when the appointment of former Pirate skipper Fred Clarke as a management consultant in the dugout led to confusion and a player revolt. After moving to St. Louis as a coach, McKechnie took the reins when Bob O'Farrell was removed for failing to win the 1927 pennant. McKechnie obliged Cardinal owner Sam Breadon by managing the Cardinals to first place in 1928, but the four-game World Series loss to the Yankees led to his 1929 demotion to Rochester (International League), while Rochester's manager, Billy Southworth, took over the Cardinals. Late in the season, Breadon decided he had made a mistake, and switched them back; combined, Southworth and McKechnie managed a fourth-place Cardinal finish.

McKechnie followed with eight years as the Braves' manager, never finishing higher than fourth. In 1935 Boston lost a club-record 115 games, but McKechnie remained through 1937. He spent nine seasons managing at Cincinnati, winning pennants in 1939 and 1940. In the 1939 WS he was swept by the Yankees again, but in 1940 his Reds beat the Tigers in seven.

A baseball conservative, Deacon Bill was more effective with pitchers than hitters, although his shrewd coaching of Larry Doby at Cleveland (1947-49) hastened the youngster's adjustment to the major leagues. He was strict with players, but his quiet self-discipline and fairness won their respect. McKechnie was money-conscious, and his moves to Boston and Cincinnati were for lucrative, long-term contracts. He was a churchgoer and family man, which earned him his nickname. (ADS)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » January 20, 1916: The Giants buy Edd Roush from the Newark Tip Tops (Federal League) for $7,500. Roush will hit just .188 in New York before being packaged to Cincinnati, where he will blossom into a Hall of Famer. Along with Roush come the contracts of C Bill Rariden from the Peps, infielder Bill McKechnie, spitballer Fred Anderson from the Buffalo Bufffeds (AKA the Blues), and Federal League star, the colorful Benny Kauff. The total price is $65,000. » July 20, 1916: The Reds acquire three future Hall of Famers when Christy Mathewson is traded to Cincinnati with Giants CF Edd Roush and 3B Bill McKechnie for former Giants Buck Herzog and Red Killefer. McKechnie will make it to Cooperstown as a manager, not as a player, but the 23-year-old Roush is a steal for the Reds. A longtime nemesis of the Reds, Mathewson will pitch one game and then manage, and a new team nickname will be coined: "Matties." The Reds lose today, managing just two hits off Pete Alexander, who contributes two doubles himself to the Phils offense. » November 7, 1927: Bill McKechnie, who had been a coach, replaces Bob O'Farrell as St. Louis Cardinals manager, and Burt Shotton moves up from Syracuse (IL) to manage the Phils. » November 21, 1928: The Cardinals sign Billy Southworth as manager; Bill McKechnie goes down to Rochester (IL). » July 23, 1929: The Cardinals decide they made a mistake when they sent manager Bill McKechnie to Rochester and brought up Billy Southworth; they swap them back again. » October 6, 1929: Bill McKechnie signs a 4-year contract to manage the Braves. » October 15, 1937: Boston Bees manager Bill McKechnie signs a contract to lead Cincinnati. » May 14, 1938: After a 7–6 ten-inning loss to the Cardinals, the Reds file a protest regarding a disputed hit by the Reds Dusty Cooke. Cooke hits a ball that bounced off the part of the RF pavilion at Sportsman's Park that juts out over the playing field. The ball bounces back in play and Cooke reaches 3B. Reds manager Bill McKechnie contends it should be a home run, stating that if it had been hit lower it would miss the pavilion and been a homer. On June 3, Ford Frick rules the game should be replayed as part of a August 20 twinbill. The Reds will win the first game, 4–2, then lose the nitecap, 5–4. » September 18, 1940: The Reds clinch the NL flag, outdistancing the Dodgers and the late-rushing Cardinals. Bill McKechnie's Cincinnati team makes only 117 errors during the season, 18 less than any previous team. The .981 fielding mark is the best up to this time. The defense, plus the pitching of Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer, and reliever Joe Beggs, brings the 2nd straight NL flag to the Reds, despite multiple injuries to Ernie Lombardi. The big catcher went down again September 15th, and with Hershberger's suicide, the club turns to 39-year-old coach Jimmy Wilson for some of the backstopping. Wilson will end up as a WS hero. » August 31, 1942: Larry MacPhail seeks insurance for the Dodger pennant run by buying Bobo Newsom from the Senators for $25,000. The purchase had been rumored for weeks. The veteran will respond by shutting out Cincinnati 2–0 in three days. [Blanking the Reds is not difficult. Bill McKechnie's team will hit .231 for the season, the lowest in the ML since the Highlanders hit .229 in 1914 and Brooklyn .229 in 1910.] » February 26, 1943: The Phils sign Bucky Harris as manager. It is the 4th ML club Harris has led, not counting two stints—later 3—at Washington. Clark Griffith, Rogers Hornsby, Donie Bush, and Bill McKechnie have also managed four clubs. » June 10, 1944: P Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds is the youngest player in major-league history. Nuxhall, only 15 years, 10 months old, pitches 2/3 of an inning in an 18-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He manages to give up five walks and two hits before Bill McKechnie takes him out. » August 12, 1945: Mel Ott leads the Giants to a pair of wins over the Reds, 3–2 and 6–5. Ott hits a pinch 3-run homer in the 8th of the nitecap after his homer and another by Danny Gardella leads the way in opener. The Reds Bill McKechnie, desperate for hitting, selects P Joe Bowman to pinch-hit for Vern Kennedy in game 1. Bowman is 0-for-42. He will hit .088 for the season. » January 28, 1962: Edd Roush and Bill McKechnie are added to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. » July 23, 1962: Bob Feller, Jackie Robinson, Bill McKechnie, and Edd Roush are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.