McKechnie, "Bill" (William B.).
Baseball
b. Aug. 7, 1886, Wilkinsburg, PA
d. Oct. 29, 1965
A competent infielder but not much of a hitter, McKechnie appeared in just 846 games in 11 major-league seasons. Yet Frank Chance, his manager in 1913, called him "one of my most valuable players" because of his knowledge of the game. When Chance needed advice, he said, he usually sought out McKechnie.
After retiring in 1921, McKechnie became a coach with the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates and he took over as manager in July of 1922. In 1925, he guided the Pirates to a pennant and a seven-game victory in the World Series.
McKechnie was an unusual kind of manager for his era. A very religious man, he didn't smoke, didn't drink, and didn't use profanity. When he had a problem player who was likely to go out carousing, McKechnie's simple solution was to room with him.
Because of a dispute with management, McKechnie left Pittsburgh after the 1926 season and became a coach with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was named manager of the team in 1928 and promptly won another pennant, but St. Louis lost to the New York Yankees in a four-game World Series.
As punishment for that defeat, Cardinal owner Sam Breadon sent McKechnie to manage a minor-league farm club in 1929, but he returned to the Cardinals before the end of the season, then took over the Boston Braves in 1930.
After eight years in Boston, including a brief period as interim president of the franchise, McKechnie was hired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1938. The team finished fourth that year, then won pennants in 1939 and 1940. The Reds lost the 1939 World Series but won in 1940. Released by Cincinnati after a sixth-place finish in 1946, McKechnie became a coach and advisor to Lou Boudreau, the young playing manager of the Cleveland Indians, for three years.
The only manager to win pennants with three different teams, McKechnie won 1,896 games and lost 1,723, a .524 winning percentage.