Billy Southworth

Billy Southworth was the most successful major league baseball manager of the 1940s including the three straight years in which his St. Louis Cardinal teams won more than 100 games. He won three National League pennants with the Cardinals and one with the Boston Braves, and his .597 winning percentage is the fifth highest in baseball history. But Southworth was dogged by demons off the field, including the deaths of three children. On the field, his achievements were minimized by many because they occurred during the war years when the baseball talent level was below par. When he finally got top recognition, being elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007, the honor occurred 38 years after his death.

John C. Skipper, a political reporter for the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, has written numerous books on politics and baseball, including a history of the The Iowa Caucuses and acclaimed biographies of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dazzy Vance and Charlie Gehringer.

John C. Skipper
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: 29 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6847-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0210-3
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. “The closest man friend I had” 9
2. “Each burning deed and thought” 16
3. “What would McGraw do?” 25
4. McGraw 35
5. The Cardinals Rule 46
6. A Strikeout for the Ages 59
7. Transitions 69
8. “Every species of discouragement” 78
9. Down and Out 87
10. The Redbird Renaissance 97
11. A Special Year 105
12. Two More Just Like It 125
13. William Brooks Southworth 136
14. Brave New World 145
15. Spahn and Sain and… 156
16. From Better to Bitter 164
17. The Transition Years 173
18. A Final Tribute 180
Appendices
A: Career Statistics 187
B: War Years Managers 189
C: The 1942 St. Louis Cardinals 190
D: The 1943 St. Louis Cardinals 191
E: The 1944 St. Louis Cardinals 191
F: The 1948 Boston Braves 192
G: Winning Managers 193
Chapter Notes 195
Bibliography 203
Index 207