Henry Willis Patrick "Bill" Norman (July 16, 1910 – April 21, 1962) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and scout in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. A longtime minor league player and manager, he is best remembered for his brief term as pilot of the Detroit Tigers in 1958–59.

Playing career

Norman was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and served as a bat boy for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

as a 12-year-old. He attended St. Louis University and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1929. A right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder who stood tall and weighed , he rose quickly to the Major League level as player. Only 20 years old, he was called up to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

after hitting .366 in the Class C

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

. But he got into only 37 games with the 1931–32 White Sox, batted only .204 in 103

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, and would spend the rest of his playing career in the minors, where he batted .303 with 292 home runs in 2,092 games. Norman led the Class A1

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(1941), and the top-level

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (1942).

Managing career

In June 1946, he became manager of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the International League, then spent five seasons as a manager in the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

farm system, winning consecutive Eastern League pennants with the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

in 1950–51. Norman then served as a coach for his hometown Browns for two seasons (1952–53) — the Browns' last in St. Louis before moving to Baltimore. In 1954, he joined the Tigers' organization as a scout and minor league manager, and rose to the Triple-A level as skipper of the

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...

of the American Association in 1957. The following season, the Tigers — struggling at 21–28 under

Jack Tighe John Thomas Tighe ( – ), pronounced "tie", was an American minor league baseball player and a coach, manager and scout for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Biography Born in Kearny, New Jersey, Tighe joined the professional rank ...

on June 10 — promoted Norman to manager. He led them to 56 victories in 105 games and a fifth-place finish. But during the 1950s, the Tigers were undergoing a period of transition in their ownership and front office and in rebuilding mode on the field. They began

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

with one of the worst starts in their history, losing 15 of their first 17 games. Norman could not survive the catastrophic streak; he was fired in favor of Jimmie Dykes on May 3. As a Major League manager, he won 58 games and lost 64 (.475). Norman then rejoined his first MLB team, the White Sox, as a scout. In 1961 he returned to the minor leagues when he was named manager of the Chisox' Triple-A affiliate, the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

of the Pacific Coast League, on July 12. It was his last year in baseball. After he returned to his job as a White Sox scout, Norman died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the outset of the 1962 season, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, at the age of 51.

References

External links

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Managing record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Bill 1910 births 1962 deaths Baseball coaches from Missouri Baseball players from St. Louis Chicago White Sox players Chicago White Sox scouts Dallas Steers players Detroit Tigers managers Detroit Tigers scouts Elmira Pioneers players Hollywood Stars players Houston Buffaloes players Knoxville Smokies players Laurel Cardinals players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Muskogee Chiefs players Oklahoma City Indians players St. Louis Browns coaches St. Paul Saints (AA) players San Antonio Missions managers Shawnee Robins players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players