Books and articles about Billy Southworth

A boyish Nebraskan, Southworth entered professional baseball against his father's wishes and spent four decades in the game as a player and manager. As a lefthanded-hitting outfielder, he displayed consistency at the plate, speed on the bases, and sure-handedness afield. He tied for the NL lead with 14 triples for Pittsburgh in 1919 and had his best all-around season with the Giants and World Champion Cardinals in 1926, batting .320 with 16 HR and 99 RBI. His three-run homer in Game Two of the '26 Series secured the victory for Grover Cleveland Alexander.

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Southworth managed Rochester to the 1928 International League pennant and was promoted to the Cardinals the following year. Attempts to force his methods on former teammates led to dissension, and he was dismissed in July. Returning to Rochester, he won three successive pennants from 1929 to 1931, but because of bitterness and personal difficulties, he continued to incur the disfavor of the Cardinals organization. He coached the Giants in 1933, but was soon out of baseball.

Offered another chance by the Cardinals in 1935, Southworth worked his way back to the majors. Taking over in July of 1940 with St. Louis in sixth place, he guided the club to third. Under his direction, the Cardinals finished second in 1941 and then captured three successive NL pennants (1942-44) and two World Championships. He was a strict taskmaster, but displayed great skill with young players. A $50,000 offer lured him to the Braves in 1946, and two years later he led them to their first pennant since 1914.

In 13 years as a ML manager, Southworth only once finished in the second division. TSN named him Manager of the Year in 1941 and 1942. His .593 won-lost percentage places him sixth among ML pilots. (JL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » February 23, 1921: The Pirates obtain vet SS Rabbit Maranville from Boston. They give up OF Billy Southworth, OF Fred Nicholson, IF Walter Barbare, and $15,000. » August 4, 1921: At Chicago, Braves Billy Southworth leads Boston to a 13–5 scalping of the Cubs by belting three doubles and home run. John Watson coasts to the win over Percy Jones. » November 12, 1923: John McGraw sends OF Casey Stengel, SS Dave Bancroft, and OF Bill Cunningham to the Braves for P Joe Oeschger and OF Billy Southworth. Bancroft will be named player-manager, one of three players in the swap who will skipper the Braves. » June 14, 1926: The Giants trade OF Billy Southworth to the Cards for OF Heinie Mueller. » September 16, 1926: At Philadelphia, the Cards sweep a pair from the Phils to tie for first place. They open with a 23–3 pasting, a game in which 36 players are used, 22 by the Phils. The Cards plate 12 runs in the 3rd inning, with all the Cardinals getting a hit except Billy Southworth, who is robbed of a double by Freddy Leach's catch. Taylor Douthit has a walk and single, two stolen bases, and two runs scored in the game. Flint Rhem is the winning pitcher. The Cards lighten up in game 2, winning 10–2, behind Art Reinhart. » September 24, 1926: At the Polo Grounds, the Cardinals clinch the pennant by beating the Giants 6–4 behind Flint Rhem and Bill Sherdel. Billy Southworth homers to help beat his old teammates, negating Bill Terry's 3-run home run off Rhem. The Cards are now ahead of Cincinnati by three games with two to play. The Reds lose to the Phillies today, 9–2. » October 3, 1926: Grover Alexander (9-7) faces Urban Shocker (19-11) as a record 63,600 look on. The Yankees score twice in the 2nd, but Old Pete sets down the last 21 batters, striking out 10. Billy Southworth and SS Tommy Thevenow collect three hits each, including a home run apiece, for a 6–2 St. Louis win. Thevenow's is a line drive that skips by Ruth for an inside-the-park homer: Thevenow will hit two regular season home runs in his career-both inside the park. » 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. » November 6, 1938: The St. Louis Cardinals hire Ray Blades to manage the team in 1939. Blades, manager of Rochester this past season, will be replaced by Billy Southworth. » June 7, 1940: With the Cardinals starting badly (14-24), owner Sam Breadon fires Ray Blades as manager. Bill Southworth is brought back from Rochester to replace him. Mike Gonzales is the interim manager until Southworth arrives. » June 14, 1940: In his first appearance as Ray Blades' successor, new Cardinal manager Billy Southworth wins a 6–2 verdict over the Phillies. New Card Ernie Koy has two hits to lead a nine-hit attack for Bob Bowman. » August 2, 1942: Carl Hubbell wins his 5th straight, topping the Cardinals 7–1. Mel Ott's two homers, one a grand slam eases the way for the vet. In the nightcap, Dick Bartell's 9th inning error paved the way for Billy Southworth's squeeze bunt, and the Cards win, 3–2. Mort Cooper allows four hits in winning his 13th. » September 21, 1944: The Cardinals finally clinch the NL flag with a 5-4 win over Boston. Twenty games ahead on September 1, the Cards then blew 15 of the next 20 games. They will finish with 105 victories and their 3rd title under Billy Southworth, whose clubs won 316 games in 3 years. Pittsburgh finishes 141Ž2 games behind. » February 15, 1945: Billy Southworth Jr., the son of Cards manager Billy Southworth, is killed when his B29 crashes into the water off Flushing, New York. The 27-year-old was a veteran of 25 missions in Europe, and was the first player in organized baseball to enlist in WW2. The young Southworth was a well regarded outfielder with the Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) in 1940. » November 6, 1945: Billy Southworth leaves the Cardinals to sign a 3-year contract with the Braves, who are making aggressive moves under Lou Perini and other new owners. Eddie Dyer will become the new Cardinal pilot. » April 8, 1949: Dissension rumors surround the NL title-holder Boston Braves after manager Billy Southworth calls a closed meeting of the club in a South Carolina hotel. » August 15, 1949: Reports of clubhouse troubles trail the Braves all season. Owner Lou Perini prevails on manager Billy Southworth to take a leave of absence. The team spurts briefly under Johnny Cooney but finishes under .500 in fourth place. Braves players vote Southworth only a half-share of last year's Series earnings but Happy Chandler restores the full share. » June 19, 1951: Following the Cubs 3–0 shut out the Braves by Bob Rush, Tommy Holmes replaces Billy Southworth as the Boston manager. » June 20, 1951: Billy Southworth's first win as Braves manager is a breeze as Warren Spahn shuts out the Cubs, 9–0, and is 3-for-4 at the plate, including a HR. » July 22, 1967: The White Sox get Sandy Alomar and infielder Ken Boyer from the Mets in exchange for infielder Billy Southworth and catcher J.C. Martin.