Billy Herman
Hall of Famers at War
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 7, 1909 New Albany, IN |
| Date and Place of Death: | September 5, 1992 West Palm Beach, FL |
| Baseball Experience: | Hall of Fame |
| Position: | Second Base |
| Rank: | Unknown |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
William J. B. "Billy" Herman was born on July 7, 1909 in New Albany,
Indiana. He signed with the Louisville Colonels of the American
Association in 1928 and quickly established himself as the team's
regular second baseman. In 1931, Herman batted .350 with 59 RBIs and was
purchased by the Chicago Cubs for $50,000 on August 4. He made his major
league debut on August 29 against Cincinnati and played 25 games for a
.327 batting average before the season was over.
Herman batted .314 for the Cubs in 1932 and was a National League
all-star by 1934. An incomparable hit-and-run man, he led the National
League in hits (227) and doubles (57) in 1935.
The Cubs traded Herman to the Dodgers in May 1941 and he continued to
have some excellent seasons with Brooklyn until entering military
service with the Navy on March 11, 1944.
Herman was at Great Lakes Naval Training Center during 1944 and in March
1945, he was with Navy teams that traveled to Pacific islands and played
games at Eniwetok, Kwajelein, Saipan, Gum and the Philippines.
During the summer of 1945, Herman served as player-manager of the Aiea
Barracks team in Hawaii. Aiea lost to Pearl Harbor Submarine Base in the
14th Naval District League championship game in September 1945 before
21,000 at Furlong Field, but he was selected to the 14th Naval District
All-Star team and voted league MVP. In late September 1945, Herman
played for the National League team which won the Navy World Series in
Hawaii. He was discharged from service on December 15, 1945.
Herman was 36 when he returned to the Dodgers in 1946, and they traded
him to the Boston Braves in June. He was then traded to the Pirates for
1947 and spent most of the season - his last in the majors - as their
player/manager. After his playing days ended, he was a Brooklyn
Dodgers coach from 1952 to 1957 and a member of the Milwaukee Braves
staff in 1958 and 1959. He became a Boston Red Sox coach in 1960 and
took over as their manager late in the 1964 season. After managing the
Red Sox for almost two years, he was a California Angels coach in 1967
and a member of the San Diego Padres staff in 1978 and 1979.
Billy Herman was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. He
passed away in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 5, 1992, aged
83. He is buried at the Riverside Memorial Park in Tequesta, Florida.
Date Added June 9, 2020
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