Whitey Herzog - 1931-2024

Manager

BORN: 11/9/1931 in New Athens, Ill.

YEARS WITH CARDINALS: 1980-90

NUMBER RETIRED: 2010

CAREER:

Baseball in St. Louis was reborn in the 1980s under Whitey Herzog. A native of New Athens, Ill., in the Metro East area of St. Louis, Herzog managed the Cardinals from 1980 to 1990. He ranks third in franchise history with 822 victories – trailing only Tony La Russa (1,408) and Red Schoendienst (1,041) – and his teams won three National League pennants and the 1982 World Series.

Hand-picked by club president August Busch Jr., Herzog took over the Redbirds on June 9, 1980. Two months later, Herzog turned over his on-field managerial duties to become general manager and have more direct involvement in player personnel. He assumed the dual role of field manager and general manager in October. At the winter meetings that December, Herzog began to transform the Cardinals with three blockbuster trades involving 21 players. He envisioned a team built on speed and defense in spacious Busch Stadium.

St. Louis posted the best record in the N.L. in 1981 but finished second in the Eastern Division in both halves of the strike-interrupted season and did not make the playoffs. Herzog relinquished his general manager duties on Opening Day of the 1982 season. The Cardinals went on to win the World Series with a thrilling seven-game victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. It marked the franchise’s first championship in 15 years.

Two more pennants followed in 1985 and 1987. Meanwhile, fans flocked to Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals' entertaining style of play that became known as "Whiteyball." In Herzog's eight full seasons as skipper, St. Louis drew at least 2.4 million spectators annually while topping the 3-million plateau for the first two times in club annals (1987 and 1989). Herzog, who valued his sterling relationship with Busch, resigned July 5, 1990, less than a year after Busch died, and did not manage again.

Before coming to St. Louis, Herzog managed the Texas Rangers (1973), California Angels (1974 on an interim basis) and Kansas City Royals (1975-79). The Royals won three straight American League Western Division titles from 1976 to 1978 but fell to the New York Yankees in the League Championship Series all three times.

Herzog's lifetime managerial record was 1,281-1,125, a .532 winning percentage. His win total ranks 37th on baseball's all-time list through 2020. He was named the 1982 Major League Manager of the Year and 1985 N.L. Manager of the Year. The charismatic "White Rat" also spent time as a big league coach, farm system director and scout and briefly served as general manager of the Angels in 1993 and 1994.

Primarily an outfielder during an eight-year big-league playing career, Herzog batted .257 with 25 home runs and 172 RBI for the Washington Senators (1956-58), Kansas City Athletics (1958-60), Baltimore Orioles (1961-62) and Detroit Tigers (1963).

As a minor leaguer with the McAlester (Okla.) Rockets in 1949, Herzog was christened with the name "Whitey" by sportscaster Bill Speith for his light-colored hair.

Herzog was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 by the Veterans Committee. Two days before the enshrinement ceremonies on July 25, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced that Herzog's number 24 would be retired by the organization. Herzog wore No. 3 in 1980, but infielder Ken Oberkfell gave up No. 24 after the season and Herzog took it. Herzog was voted the manager on the All-Busch Stadium II team in 2005 and was an inaugural member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.