Remembering Bill Virdon

Former major league outfielder and manager Bill Virdon, a West Plains resident, died today at age 90. Virdon earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1955 with the St. Louis Cardinals with 17 home runs, 69 RBI and a .281 batting average.

He was traded to the Pittsburg Pirates the following year and was the center fielder when the Pirates defeated the Yankees in seven games to win the 1960 World Series.

Virdon retired after the 1965 season and spent the next four decades as a coach and manager. He managed the Yankees, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos.

Before he reached the major leagues, Virdon began his professional baseball career with the Independence, Kansas team in the KOM League.

Virdon returned to one of the KOM ballparks where he played, Carl Lewton Stadium in Carthage, in July 1998 to renew old acquaintances and participate in an oldtimers' game, which I wrote about in the Carthage Press and in my book Sports Talk Memories.:

The man held the notepad in front of him as he walked through the bleachers toward the first base dugout at Carl Lewton Stadium.

Do you think Mr. Virdon would sign this?” he asked.

Assured that he would, the man went into the dugout and returned with the autograph of the man who played center field for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

All eyes were on the former all-star when he stepped to the plate during the bottom half of that same inning.

Though he is 67, Virdon still looked amazingly like he did more than four decades earlier when he played in the KOM League.

The first pitch hit the dirt well in front of the plate. “Ball,” umpire Carl Lewton called out in his clear, distinctive voice.

The next pitch was right down the middle and Virdon ripped a line drive over the second baseman’s head into right field. He stopped at first with a single.

“What did Virdon do?” one of his teammates, who had been talking during the at-bat, asked.

Cal Hrabos turned to his friend and said, “Hell, he got a base hit.”

Bill Virdon had a lot of base hits during his major league career, which included some time with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was one of the lucky ones.

He was talented enough to be a success at the major league level, but so were many of the other men who played baseball in the KOM League. They stayed in places like Carthage, Iola, Pittsburg, Miami, Independence, and Ponca City, waiting for opportunities that usually never came. There were too many minor leagues and too many players who were too old to play in the major leagues because they served their country during World War II.

Bill Virdon was not at the KOM Reunion Oldtimers Game Tuesday morning as the man who hit the big time. He was there to see old friends, to be just one hero among many.

He was there to see old friends, like starting pitcher Joe Beatka. Beatka was disappointed when the oldtimers game at the first KOM Reunion, held in 1996 in Pittsburg, was rained out. At that time, he promised he would play when the next game was held. Despite open heart surgery and cataract surgery, he kept that promise.

The man who may have been the fastest man to ever play in the KOM League, Jumpin’ Joe Pollock, was another one whose career was derailed by the war, but that never erased the smile from his face.

He was in the lineup Tuesday despite have knee replacement surgery on both knees. It would have been easy for him and some of the other men, most of whom are in their 70s, to sit on the sidelines.

Joe, 77, shook his head. “I guess we still love baseball.”

For Joe and the other love of his life, his wife of more than half a century Mary, the KOM League holds many fond memories.

“I came here to the KOM League as a bride,” Mary said. “The manager’s wife and the players’ wives took me under their wing. We were like family.”

The special bond wasn’t just limited to the players and their immediate families. “The people in the towns we played were absolutely wonderful,” Joe said.

Joe, who played for the Miami, Pittsburg, and Iola teams, drove opposing teams crazy during the 1946 and 1947 seasons, when he attempted 123 stolen bases and was successful on 120 of them.

He and his teammates were much appreciated by the community, he said. “The storeowners would give merchandise to the players, maybe a free dinner or three pounds of ground beef.”

One night, when Joe stole six bases, including home twice, he fans passed the hat and collected $150 for them. “And the players were paid $150 a month at that time.”

After his days in the KOM League, Joe remained active in baseball, coaching Babe Ruth ball for 26 years in Miami, where two of his players, Steve and Tinker Owens, later became better known for their football exploits.

More than half a century has passed, but Joe and his bride have nothing but fond memories of the league that refuses to die. “Those were wonderful times. We’re all just like a family,” Mary said.

“We still have that same kind of togetherness and closeness,” Joe added. His wife agreed and she has no doubt why the passing decades have not erased that bond.

“It’s because they love the game.”