Profile of Bill Rigney on Famous Like Me

William Joseph Rigney (January 29, 1918 - February 20, 2001) was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of Alameda, California, he batted and threw right-handed.

A 26-season major league veteran, Rigney played for the New York Giants from 1946 through 1953. His most productive season came in 1947, when he collected career-highs in home runs (17), RBI (59), runs (84), hits (142), doubles (24) and games played (130). An All-Star in 1948, he was a .259 career hitter with 41 home runs and 212 RBI in 654 games.

Following his playing career, Rigney served as the Giants manager from 1956-60, leading the club in its first season after moving from New York to San Francisco in 1958. He then became the expansion Los Angeles Angels first manager in 1961, moved with them to Anaheim, and remained until the 1969 season, winning the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1962. He later led the Minnesota Twins to the 1970 AL West, being replaced in the 1972 midseason.

After serving as a scout for the Padres and Angels (1973-74), Rigney had a second managerial stint with the Giants in 1976.

In a 18-season managerial career, Rigney posted a 1239-1321 record (.484) in 2561 games. After that, he served as a radio and TV broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics in the 1980s.

Rigney died in Walnut Creek, California at age of 83.

Quotation

• Rigney took the reins of the Giants in 1956, succeeding Leo Durocher, for whom he had played from 1948 to 1953. I learned a lot from Leo Durocher, he said. I learned about the hit-and-run, about gambling and going against the percentages. You can't play it the same all the time. – Norman L. Macht, at Baseball Library

External link

• Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record and playing statistics

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