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Bill Virdon 1955 ROY St Louis Cardinals Autographed Signed OML Baseball COA

THIS ONE IS A BEAUTY!!

Great looking, single signed baseball by former 1955 National League Rookie of the Year...Bill Virdon.

Bill began his career in 1955 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played for the Cardinals 1955-56 and Pittsburgh Pirates 1956-65, 1968.  Bill playe din 1583 career games...and banged out 1596 hits (including 237 doubles, 81 triples and 91 HR's) in 5980 at bats for a .267 career batting average.  Bill was named the 1955 National League Rookie of the Year, led all NL batters with 10 triples in 1962, was awarded a Gold Glove in 1962 and was a member of the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.  After his playing days were over, Bill managed the Pittsburgh Pirates 1972-73, New York Yankees 1974-75, Houston Astros 1975-82 and Montreal Expos 1983-84.  As a manager he managed 1918 games (995 wins vs. 921 losses) for a .519 winning percentage.  Bill signed the sweet spot of this OML Allan H. Selig baseball with a blue ballpoint pen and he also inscribed underneath his name, "N.L. R.O.Y. 55", to note his accomplishment.  Bill originally signed this OML baseball on Sunday September 14, 2008.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

William Charles Virdon (born June 9, 1931 in Hazel Park, Michigan) is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days (1955-65) as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates (winning a Gold Glove in 1962), Virdon also had a long tenure in the major leagues as a manager, with the Pirates (1972-73), New York Yankees (1974-75), Houston Astros (1975-82), and Montreal Expos (1983-84). He was the American League Manager of the Year in 1974, his only full season working for the Yankees of George Steinbrenner.

Virdon initially signed with the Yankees, but he never played for the big league club. As a minor league prospect, he was traded to the Cardinals in a multi-player deal before the 1954 season for veteran outfielder Enos Slaughter, now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After one more year of seasoning in the minors, Virdon joined the Cardinals in 1955 and was named National League Rookie of the Year. He was traded to Pittsburgh in May 1956.

A left-handed batter (who threw right-handed), Virdon's career batting average was .267 with 91 home runs during his 1,583-game NL career. He was the starting center fielder on the 1960 world champion Pirates, batting .241 in seven World Series games. His ground ball in Game 7 took a bad hop and struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, enabling Virdon to reach base and the Pirates to mount a furious rally in a game (and series) eventually won by Bill Mazeroski's dramatic home run.

As a manager, he led the Pirates to the 1972 NL East title, but the Buccos dropped the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds when Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Moose unleashed a wild pitch in the final inning of Game 5, allowing the winning run to score. His 1980 Astros won the NL West championship, but fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in a five-game NLCS. His career managerial record, over all or parts of 13 seasons, was 995-921 (.519). He also served three different terms as a Pirates coach. He has the unusual distinction of having been replaced on two separate occasions by the manager he replaced; in Montreal (Jim Fanning) and in Pittsburgh (Danny Murtaugh).

Lifetime guarantee in regards to this autographed baseball which also comes with a COA from Gearhart Enterprises, Inc. Member of the UACC. UACC Registered Dealer #RD189.