Hall of Famer Dorrel Norman Elvert “Whitey” Herzog died at the age of 92. Herzog, who is survived by his wife of 71 years, Mary Lou Herzog, their three children; Debra, David, and Jim, and their spouses; nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. Herzog led his Cardinals teams to three (1982, 1985 & 1987) World Series, including a World Series title in 1982, and he ranks 3rd on the franchise’s all-time managerial wins list with 822.
“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer our condolences to the family and many friends of Whitey Herzog,” said Cardinals’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. “Whitey and his teams played a big part in changing the direction of the Cardinals franchise in the early 1980s with an exciting style of play that would become known as “Whitey Ball” throughout baseball. Whitey loved the Cardinals, their fans, and St. Louis. He will be sorely missed.”
The Herzog family issued the following statement:
Before coming to St. Louis, Herzog managed the Texas Rangers (1973), California Angels (1974 on an interim basis) and Kansas City Royals (1975-79). The Royals won three straight American League West Division titles from 1976 to 1978 but fell to the New York Yankees in the League Championship Series all three times.
Herzog’s managerial record was 1,281-1,125, a .532 winning percentage. His win total ranks 39th on baseball’s all-time list. He was voted the 1982 Major League Manager of the Year award and the 1985 N.L. Manager of the Year. The charismatic “White Rat” also spent time as a big league coach, farm system director and scout, and briefly served as general manager of the Angels in 1993 and 1994.
