Gordon William Hunter (born June 4, 1928) is a retired American

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, coach and manager in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Playing career

Born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Hunter was listed as tall and . He threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. After attending

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...

and Penn State, Hunter was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948. He was sold to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) on October 14, 1952, for $150,000 after leading the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in fielding and stolen bases. Hunter was the starting shortstop for the last Browns club in 1953 and the first modern

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

team when the Brownies moved to Maryland in 1954. For the remainder of his career, however, he was a second-string infielder for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. Hunter batted .219 with 16

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 144 RBI in 630 games over his six-year (1953–58) AL career."Rangers Pick Billy Hunter As 4th Manager in a Week," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Tuesday, June 28, 1977.
Retrieved April 19, 2022.

Scout and coach

When Hunter's playing career ended, he scouted for the Indians and Orioles. He managed the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

to Appalachian League championships in 1962 and 1963. Hunter was promoted to Baltimore on November 20, 1963 as third-base coach by former Yankees teammate

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

, who had become the team's manager one day earlier. He performed that role for almost 14 seasons for four AL champions and two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

winners. Hunter declined an offer from former Orioles general manager Harry Dalton to manage the California Angels on November 23, 1971.

MLB manager and college head coach

Hunter left the Orioles on June 27, 1977 to become the Texas Rangers' fourth manager that season, succeeding

Connie Ryan Cornelius Joseph Ryan (February 27, 1920 – January 3, 1996) was an American professional baseball second baseman, third baseman, coach and manager who served as interim manager of two Major League Baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves and the ...

, who had served in the interim for six games. His appointment ended the Rangers' bizarre search for a new manager, which had begun five day prior with Frank Lucchesi's dismissal, followed by

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston ...

's one-game stint. Despite the team trailing by games in fifth place in the

AL West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cur ...

, he stated upon his arrival, "I am accepting this job because I think the Texas Rangers have a contending team." Under Hunter, the Rangers won 60 of their final 93 games and climbed from fifth to second place. In 1978 the Rangers finished tied for second, five games behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals. During the season, Hunter had a confrontation with

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Dock Ellis Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

on a team bus. Ellis was later quoted saying Hunter "may be

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, but he ain't making no lampshade out of me." After turning down a five-year contract extension in midseason, offered by Rangers' young owner, Brad Corbett, Hunter was fired with one day left in the campaign due to his poor relationship with his team. When asked if he was sorry he took the manager's job, Hunter replied "yes." Hunter's record over his one-and-a-half seasons was 146–108 (.575), but he never returned to the Major Leagues as a coach or manager, though he claimed to have received a half dozen job offers in the winter of 1978. He became head baseball coach and athletic director at Maryland's

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, retiring in 1995. He was a 1996 honoree into the Orioles Hall of Fame, inducted with Jerry Hoffberger and Cal Ripken, Sr. These three men were so well thought of in Baltimore that a crowd of 400 showed up at the luncheon at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.Badger, Sylvia
Hunter, Hoffberger, Ripken Sr. enter Orioles Hall of Fame
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'', Baltimore, 1 September 1996. Retrieved on 2010-6-26

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Billy 1928 births Living people Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball players from Pennsylvania Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Indians scouts Denver Bears players Fort Worth Cats players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Nashua Dodgers players Newport News Dodgers players New York Yankees players People from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania Pueblo Dodgers players St. Louis Browns players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Texas Rangers managers Texas Rangers scouts Towson Tigers athletic directors Towson Tigers baseball coaches Trois-Rivières Royals players