Willard Wayne Terwilliger (June 27, 1925 – February 3, 2021), nicknamed "Twig", was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

second baseman. He played nine seasons 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) ...

(MLB) between 1949 and 1960 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

, Washington Senators,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, and

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 seas ...

."Wayne Terwilliger Statistics and History"
"baseball-reference.com. Accessed May 24, 2017.

Early life

Terwilliger grew up in Michigan. He joined the Marines in 1943 following his 18th birthday and served as a radioman on an amphibious tank in the Pacific Theater of World War II. While overseas, Terwilliger served in

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of t ...

and

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

, and had his tank destroyed at

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...

. "We were hit and the tank bogged down," he told ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' on April 26, 1950. "We had to abandon the tank. Everybody scattered into the nearest fox holes. But at just about that time a apanesetank rolled up and began blasting away. I knew I had to get out of there, so I ran for the beach, zigzagging in and out with the tank chasing me. I'm sure I'd be lying out there somewhere now if it hadn't been for one of our own tanks, which luckily showed up while I was doing all that broken field running." Terwilliger was discharged in late 1945 and attended

Western Michigan College Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers. ...

, where he quickly became a star

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 ...

. As early as 1946, he was attracting attention from major league

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

, and St. Louis Browns' scout Jack Fournier was particularly keen to sign him.

Playing career

In 1948, after finishing college, Terwilliger was playing second base with the semi-pro Benton Harbor Buds when he was signed as a free agent in July by the

. The Cubs assigned him to the Single-A

Des Moines Bruins Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball based in Des Moines, Iowa. The team played in the Western League (1900–1958), Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Principal Park, Pioneer Memorial Stadium, and they were affilia ...

of the Western League, where he finished the season. In 1949, Terwilliger was promoted to the AAA

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

of the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .275 in 115 games, before being called up to the Cubs in August and playing in 36 games. Terwilliger spent the 1950 season as the Cubs' starting second baseman, hitting .242 with 10 home runs, 32 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. However, after getting off to a poor start to the 1951 season, Terwilliger was included in a trade that sent outfielder

Andy Pafko Andrew Pafko (February 25, 1921 – October 8, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52), and Milwaukee Braves (1953–59). He batted ...

, pitcher

Johnny Schmitz John Albert Schmitz (November 27, 1920 – October 1, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who worked in 366 games over 13 seasons as a member of the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Se ...

, and catcher

Rube Walker Albert Bluford "Rube" Walker (May 16, 1926 – December 12, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball catcher and longtime pitching coach. Career A native of Lenoir, North Carolina, Walker batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was lis ...

to the

for catcher Bruce Edwards, pitcher Joe Hatten, outfielder Gene Hermanski and infielder Eddie Miksis. After spending the 1952 season with the AAA St. Paul Saints, Terwilliger was claimed off waivers by the Washington Senators following the 1952 season and spent the next two seasons as the Senators' second baseman. Prior to the start of the 1955 season, Terwilliger switched teams again after the

purchased him from the Senators. He spent the 1955 and '56 seasons shuttling between New York and AAA

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

and the entire 1957 season at AAA. Following the 1957 season, he was traded to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in a swap for fellow journeymen infielder

Jack Dittmer John Douglas "Jack" Dittmer (January 10, 1928 – May 31, 2014) was a Major League Baseball second baseman. He played six seasons in the majors, from until , for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves and Detroit Tigers. As an amateur, Dittmer was a t ...

. After spending 1958 with the Tigers' AAA

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...

, he was acquired by the Kansas City A's from the Detroit Tigers in the December 1958 Rule 5 draft. In 1959, Terwilliger saw his last large stretch of time in the majors, playing 74 games at second and shortstop for the A's. After starting the 1960 season with the A's, Terwilliger was unofficially traded to 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 o ...

, a transaction that was common at the time between the two teams when the Yankees were accused of using the A's as a major league farm club and the two teams often seemed to have mutual rights to each other's players, and played the rest of the season at AAA Richmond Virginians before retiring as a full-time player. In 666 games over nine seasons, Terwilliger posted a .240

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

(501-for-2091) with 271 runs, 22

home runs 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 is ...

, 162

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

and 247

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

. Defensively, he recorded a .974

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing primarily at second base.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Terwilliger started a successful career as coach and minor-league manager in the Yankees' organization with the

Greensboro Yankees Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

of the B-level

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

. After taking the 1962 season off, Terwilliger would be hired by the Washington Senators to manage their single-A team, the Wisconsin Rapids Senators in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

. He would spend the following six seasons managing in the Senators organization, the last two at AAA. Under manager

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

, Terwilliger was the third-base coach of the Senators from 1969 to 1971 and of the Texas Rangers in their first season, 1972. Following the season, Terwilliger was let go by the Rangers, following Williams' retirement, and would manage the Houston Astros' AA

Columbus Astros Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

in 1973 and Texas' single-A Lynchburg Rangers in 1975 before spending the next four seasons managing the single-A

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differe ...

. In 1980, he was hired as the manager of Texas' AA

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

. Terwilliger returned as a major league coach after being hired to

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 de ...

's 1981 Rangers staff and would stay with the team for four years. He would coach first for Zimmer, and then

Darrell Johnson Darrell Dean Johnson (August 25, 1928 – May 3, 2004) was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout. As a manager, he led the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, and was named "Manager of the Year" by ...

Doug Rader Douglas Lee Rader (born July 30, 1944), nicknamed "The Red Rooster", is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974. Rader's career l ...

, and

Bobby Valentine Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (196 ...

. In 1986, he was hired as first-base coach on Ray Miller's

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

staff. He would stay on with rookie manager Tom Kelly, handling the job when the team won the

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

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

before leaving following the 1994 season. Staying in Minnesota, Terwilliger returned to the St. Paul Saints in 1995, this time as the first-base coach of the team in the independent

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

. He would remain with the team until 2002. In 2003, Terwilliger would be named manager of the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball. ...

in the independent

Central Baseball League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

, and won the 2005 Central League championship. After retiring from managing following the end of the 2005 season, Terwilliger accepted the position as first-base coach for the Cats, at the age of 81, and remained with the team in the new American Association through the 2010 season. Throughout his career, Terwilliger managed 12 minor-league teams and compiled a record of 1,224 wins and 1,089 losses. In 2006, Terwilliger's autobiography, ''Terwilliger Bunts One'', which drew its title from

Annie Dillard Annie Dillard (born April 30, 1945) is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 19 ...

's essay on how her mother turned that phrase into a mantra, was released.

Personal life

Terwilliger married twice. He first married Mary Jane Locke with whom he had a son, Steve, and a daughter, Marcie. His second wife's name was Linda. Terwilliger died in

Weatherford, Texas Weatherford ( ) is a city and the county seat of Parker County, Texas, United States. In 2020, its population was 30,854. Weatherford is named after Thomas J. Weatherford, a State senator and advocate for Texas’ secession to the Confederate S ...

, on February 3, 2021, at the age of 95. He had been getting treatment for bladder cancer, but the cause of death was not given.Wayne Terwilliger, 95, was teammates with MLB greats, Rangers coach, Cats manager
/ref>

References

External links

Wayne Terwilliger
at Baseball Almanac
Wayne Terwilliger's Home Page
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terwilliger, Wayne 1925 births 2021 deaths American Association (1902–1997) MVP Award winners United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Asheville Tourists managers Baseball coaches from Michigan Baseball players from Michigan Brooklyn Dodgers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Charleston Senators players Chicago Cubs players Des Moines Bruins players Geneva Senators players Greensboro Yankees players Hawaii Islanders managers Hawaii Islanders players Kansas City Athletics players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minnesota Twins coaches New York Giants (NL) players Military personnel from Michigan Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) managers People from Clare, Michigan Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Texas Rangers coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) coaches Western Michigan Broncos baseball players United States Marines Deaths from dementia in Texas Deaths from bladder cancer Deaths from cancer in Texas