William Clyde Hitchcock (July 31, 1916 – April 9, 2006) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder,

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), ...

(

MLB 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), ...

), he was primarily a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, second baseman and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who appeared in 703 games over nine years with five

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

teams. After 18 years as a coach, manager (of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

), and scout he became an executive in Minor League Baseball, serving as president of the Double-A Southern League from 1971–80. His older brother,

Jimmy Hitchcock James Franklin Hitchcock Jr. (June 28, 1911 – July 23, 1959) was an American college football player and Major League Baseball player during the Depression Era. Hitchcock played for the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University (then Al ...

, played briefly for the 1938

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During ...

Playing career

Born in Inverness, Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University, Hitchcock played all four infield positions during a nine-year

active career. The right-handed batter and thrower stood tall and weighed . He broke in with the Detroit Tigers, spent three years in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in the Pacific during World War II, and resumed his Major League career from 1946 to 1953. Overall, he batted .243 with 547 hits and five

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 in 703 games with the Tigers, Washington Senators,

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

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 ...

and Philadelphia Athletics.

Managerial career

Between Triple-A managing assignments in 1954 and 1961, Hitchcock served a six-year (1955–60) term as the Tigers' third base coach. He also became a footnote to one of the most bizarre personnel transactions in baseball annals. On August 3, 1960, the Tigers and

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 ...

traded their managers,

Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

for

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character ''Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yank ...

. Hitchcock served as Detroit's interim skipper for one game while Gordon was en route from his Cleveland assignment, and the Tigers defeated the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, 12–2, on August 3 at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. In , Hitchcock was named the full-time manager of the

. But in his two seasons at the helm, the ballclub barely broke the .500 mark (163–161). Hitchcock was dismissed on September 29 after the final game of the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

campaign in which the fourth-place Orioles finished games behind the Yankees, and moved into Baltimore's minor league department as field coordinator. Then he became a scout for the Braves, whose

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

at the time was former Tiger player and executive John McHale. Hitchcock began the season as a coach under

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, fro ...

during the Braves' first season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. But when they won only 52 of their first 111 games, Bragan was fired on August 9 and Hitchcock took over. The Braves won 33 of their last 51 games to finish fifth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

, and Hitchcock was invited back for , but he was fired September 28 of that year with the team in seventh place and three games remaining on the schedule. His career managing record was 274 wins, 261 losses (.514). Hitchcock then scouted for McHale and the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1968–71 before taking over as president of the Southern League.

Managerial record

Southern League presidency

Hitchcock became president of the Southern League in August 1971. During his presidency, the league added new teams, expanded its playoffs, and introduced split-season play. Other improvements included stadium refurbishments and efforts to make the league more family-friendly. Attendance figures rose dramatically during his tenure, from 333,500 in 1971 to over 1.7 million in 1980. The Southern League championship trophy is named after Hitchcock, and in 1980 he was presented with the

King of Baseball King of Baseball was a ceremonial title awarded annually from 1951 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize an individual for their longtime dedication and service to professional baseball. It was awarded during baseball's Winter Meetings ...

award given by Minor League Baseball. He stepped down from the presidency in 1980.

College athletics

In addition to his baseball resume, Hitchcock also made a name for himself in college football and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. As an All-Conference tailback, he led Auburn to its first bowl game (a 7-7 tie against Villanova on January 1, 1937). Later in life, he established the Billy Hitchcock Golf Tournament at his alma mater. In recognition of his contribution to the school, Auburn renamed its renovated baseball stadium "

Hitchcock Field Plainsman Park, officially ''Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park'', is the college baseball venue for the Auburn University Auburn Tigers, Tigers. As of 2015, its seating capacity is 4,096. In 2003, ''Baseball America'' rated th ...

" in 2003. Also in that year, '' Baseball America'' named it the best college baseball facility in the country.

Death

Hitchcock died in

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

at age 89.Hitchcock, former player, manager, dies at 89
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References

External links

Billy Hitchcock
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchcock, Billy 1916 births 2006 deaths American Presbyterians Atlanta Braves coaches Atlanta Braves managers Auburn Tigers baseball players Auburn Tigers football players Baltimore Orioles managers Baseball players from Alabama Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers managers Detroit Tigers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Braves scouts Minor league baseball executives Montreal Expos scouts People from Bullock County, Alabama People from Opelika, Alabama Philadelphia Athletics players Players of American football from Alabama St. Louis Browns players Southern League (1964–present) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players