Norman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and served as a bat boy for the St. Louis Browns as a 12-year-old.[1] He attended St. Louis University and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1929. A right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder who stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), he rose quickly to the Major League level as player.
At 21 years old, he was called up to the Chicago White Sox in 1931 after hitting .366 in the Class C Western Association. But he got into only 37 games with the 1931–32 White Sox, batted only .204 in 103 at bats, and would spend the rest of his playing career in the minors, where he batted .303 with 292 home runs in 2,092 games.[2] Norman led the Class A1 Texas League in runs batted in (1941), and the top-level American Association in home runs (1942).
Norman then served as a coach for his hometown Browns for in 1952–53 — the Browns' last seasons in St. Louis before moving to Baltimore. In 1954, he joined the Tigers' organization as a scout and minor league manager, and rose to the Triple-A level as skipper of the Charleston Senators of the American Association in 1957. The following season, the Tigers — struggling at 21–28 under Jack Tighe on June 10 — promoted Norman to manager. He led them to 56 victories in 105 games and a fifth-place finish. But during the 1950s, the Tigers were undergoing a period of transition in their ownership and front office and in rebuilding mode on the field. They began 1959 with one of the worst starts in their history, losing 15 of their first 17 games. Norman could not survive the catastrophic streak; he was fired in favor of Jimmie Dykes on May 3.
Norman then rejoined his first MLB team, the White Sox, as a scout. In 1961 he returned to the minor leagues when he was named manager of the Chisox' Triple-A affiliate, the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, on July 12. It was his last year in baseball. After he returned to his job as a White Sox scout, Norman died from a heart attack[3] at the outset of the 1962 season, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the age of 51.
^"Norman, Sox Scout, is Dead". Chicago Tribune. April 22, 1962. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Managing record
Biography in Borchertfield.com
January 01, 1970
bill, norman, baseball, henry, willis, patrick, bill, norman, july, 1910, april, 1962, american, outfielder, coach, manager, scout, major, league, baseball, longtime, minor, league, player, manager, best, remembered, brief, term, pilot, detroit, tigers, 1958, . Henry Willis Patrick Bill Norman July 16 1910 April 21 1962 was an American outfielder coach manager and scout in Major League Baseball A longtime minor league player and manager he is best remembered for his brief term as pilot of the Detroit Tigers in 1958 59 Bill NormanOutfielder Coach Manager ScoutBorn 1910 07 16 July 16 1910St Louis Missouri U S Died April 21 1962 1962 04 21 aged 51 Milwaukee Wisconsin U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutAugust 8 1931 for the Chicago White SoxLast MLB appearanceSeptember 24 1932 for the Chicago White SoxMLB statisticsBatting average 204Home runs0Runs batted in8Win loss record58 64Winning 475TeamsAs player Chicago White Sox 1931 1932 As manager Detroit Tigers 1958 1959 As coach St Louis Browns 1952 1953 Contents 1 Playing career 2 Managing career 2 1 Managerial record 3 References 4 External linksPlaying career editNorman was born in St Louis Missouri and served as a bat boy for the St Louis Browns as a 12 year old 1 He attended St Louis University and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1929 A right handed hitting and throwing outfielder who stood 6 feet 2 inches 1 88 m tall and weighed 190 pounds 86 kg he rose quickly to the Major League level as player At 21 years old he was called up to the Chicago White Sox in 1931 after hitting 366 in the Class C Western Association But he got into only 37 games with the 1931 32 White Sox batted only 204 in 103 at bats and would spend the rest of his playing career in the minors where he batted 303 with 292 home runs in 2 092 games 2 Norman led the Class A1 Texas League in runs batted in 1941 and the top level American Association in home runs 1942 Managing career editIn June 1946 he became manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Triple A International League then spent five seasons as a manager in the Cleveland Indians farm system winning consecutive Eastern League pennants with the Wilkes Barre Barons in 1950 51 Norman then served as a coach for his hometown Browns for in 1952 53 the Browns last seasons in St Louis before moving to Baltimore In 1954 he joined the Tigers organization as a scout and minor league manager and rose to the Triple A level as skipper of the Charleston Senators of the American Association in 1957 The following season the Tigers struggling at 21 28 under Jack Tighe on June 10 promoted Norman to manager He led them to 56 victories in 105 games and a fifth place finish But during the 1950s the Tigers were undergoing a period of transition in their ownership and front office and in rebuilding mode on the field They began 1959 with one of the worst starts in their history losing 15 of their first 17 games Norman could not survive the catastrophic streak he was fired in favor of Jimmie Dykes on May 3 Norman then rejoined his first MLB team the White Sox as a scout In 1961 he returned to the minor leagues when he was named manager of the Chisox Triple A affiliate the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League on July 12 It was his last year in baseball After he returned to his job as a White Sox scout Norman died from a heart attack 3 at the outset of the 1962 season in Milwaukee Wisconsin at the age of 51 Managerial record edit Team Year Regular season Postseason Games Won Lost Win Finish Won Lost Win Result DET 1958 105 56 49 533 Hired June 105th in AL DET 1959 17 2 15 118 8th in ALFired May 3 Total 122 58 64 475 0 0 References edit Smith Lyall Meet the Tigers New Manager Baseball Digest August 1958 pp 43 44 Baseball Reference Norman Sox Scout is Dead Chicago Tribune April 22 1962 Retrieved 2015 08 27 External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Managing record Biography in Borchertfield com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Norman baseball amp oldid 1219035488, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
