Carrigan, "Bill" (William J.)

Baseball

b. Oct. 22, 1883, Lewiston, ME
d. July 8, 1969

A catcher, Carrigan played in only 709 games during his 10 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, in 1906 and from 1908 through 1916, batting .257. Nicknamed "Rough," the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder was a scrappy player who became playing manager during the 1913 season.

Taking over a team in fifth place, Carrigan had a 40-30 record in his first season to bring the Red Sox into fourth. After a second-place finish in 1914, he guided them to consecutive pennants and world championships in 1915 and 1916.

Carrigan was Babe Ruth's first manager when Ruth arrived in the major leagues in 1914. Ruth later played for three managers who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but after he retired he said that Carrigan was the best manager he ever had.

After the 1916 World Series, Carrigan left baseball to go into banking. He was talked into managing the Red Sox in 1927, after Ruth was gone and they'd finished last nine of the previous eleven seasons. Carrigan retired permanently after three more last-place finishes. He had a 489-500 record overall.

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