Herman, "Billy" (William J.)
Baseball
b. July 7, 1909, New Albany, IN
d. Sept. 5, 1992
One of the best hitting second baseman in history, Herman spent nearly four years in the minor leagues before being purchased by the NL's Chicago Cubs late in the 1931 season. He became a starter in 1932.
Although he wasn't fast, his reflexes and lateral quickness gave him great defensive ability. He led NL second baseman in putouts a record 7 times, in assists 3 times, and in fielding percentage 3 times.
He batted .314 in his first full season, collecting 206 hits and 102 runs to help lead the Cubs to a pennant. However, they lost the World Series in four games to the New York Yankees. After slipping to .279 in 1933, he hit over .300 the next 4 seasons, leading the league with 227 hits and 57 doubles in 1935, when the Cubs again won the pennant.
Herman batted .333 against the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, but the Cubs again lost. They won another pennant in 1938, again losing to the Yankees in the series, when Herman hit only .188.
He led the NL in triples with 18 in 1939, then was traded early in the 1941 season to the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he played on another pennant-winner but batted just .125 in a five-game World Series loss to the Yankees.
After serving in the Navy in 1944 and 1945, Herman returned to the Dodgers in 1946. He was traded during the season to the Boston Braves and in 1947 he became manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, appearing in only 15 games. He was fired the day before the last game of the season.
Herman managed in the minor leagues and coached in the majors for several years before becoming manager of the AL's Boston Red Sox for the last two games of 1964. He was replaced late in the 1966 season.