Billy Hitchcock, 89; Journeyman Infielder
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Billy Hitchcock, a major league infielder during the 1940s and 1950s who went on to manage three teams, died Sunday at 89 in Opelika, Ala.
Hitchcock spent more than 40 years in professional baseball as a player, manager, scout, coach and minor league executive. He was an infielder with five clubs between 1942 and 1953. In 1951, he hit .306 in 77 games for the Philadelphia Athletics. He managed the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves in the 1960s.
As a football player, Hitchcock was a single-wing back who scored Auburn’s only touchdown, on a 40-yard run, in the Bacardi Bowl in Havana on January 1, 1937. The game ended in a 7-7 tie with Villanova.
As captain and shortstop, Hitchcock also led the Tigers to their first conference baseball title in 1937.
Hitchcock was a lieutenant in the Army reserves, earning the Bronze Star for service in the Pacific and three battle stars during World War II.
He was the president of the Southern League during the 1970s before retiring in 1980.
