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ALSO SEE
Bill Rigney's career statistics
Rigney's managing record
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Friday, February 23, 2001
Rigney was Giants player and manager
ESPN.com news services
OAKLAND, Calif. – Bill Rigney, the first manager of the
Giants after they moved from New York to San Francisco, died
Tuesday after a long bout with cancer. He was 83.
Rigney was admitted to John Muir Hospital on Nov. 18 with
pneumonia, one year after he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
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Remembering Bill Rigney
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"Statistics don't tell the story of Bill Rigney, but telling stories is certainly what he did best," writes David Bush. "When Rigney, the former major league player and manager, died Tuesday morning baseball lost a part of its history, not only in the making, but more importantly in the preservation."
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An infielder with the New York Giants from 1946-53, Rigney
compiled a lifetime batting average of .259 with 41 home runs in
eight major league seasons. He hit .232 for the 1951 team that
beat out the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant on
Bobby Thomson's dramatic ninth inning home run in the third game
of the playoffs. He served as the Giants' manager from 1956-60, leading the club in its first season after moving from New
York to San Francisco.
Rigney was a coach under manager Leo Durocher on the Giants'
team that won the 1954 World Series in four straight games over
the Cleveland Indians.
It was as a manager that Rigney is best remembered. He managed
for 18 seasons in the majors and compiled a record of
1,239-1,321. He was the first manager of the San Francisco
Giants, having succeeded Leo Durocher in New York in 1956.
Rogers was the first manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels, who he directed from 1961-1969, winning the 1962 AL Manager of the Year. He also managed the Minnesota Twins to the 1970 American
League West title.
"Baseball and the San Francisco Giants have lost one of their
greatest treasures," Giants owner Peter Magowan said. "Bill
Rigney, along with Horace Stoneham, Chub Feeney and Russ Hodges,
personified the Giants when they moved West in 1958.
"He was our first manager in San Francisco, and he had remained
our last link to that era of our franchise's history. Rig was a
baseball man through and through. He was a wonderful storyteller
and a warm, thoughtful human being."
Rigney also was a scout with the Padres and the Angels before a
second managerial stint with the Giants in 1976. His broadcasting experience included a one-year stint on the A's radio network in 1974 and two seasons on their television network in 1983 and 1984. He was inducted into the Bay Area
Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Until his health deteriorated, Rigney was a frequent presence in
the Athletics' clubhouse.
"We loved to have him around," Oakland manager Art Howe said.
"He had so much knowledge. He was such a great baseball guy. He's
seen everything that can happen in this game. He always had good,
sound advice. You would always come out feeling good about things
after you talked with him."
Rigney was born Jan. 29, 1918 in Alameda, Calif. He is survived
by two sons, William Rigney Jr. of Midland, Texas, and Tom Rigney
of Berkeley, Calif.; a daughter, Lynn Schott of Kettle Falls,
Wash.; and six grandchildren.
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