Billy Herman

'Baseball was always kind of a struggle for me,' Billy Herman said. 'I guess maybe I was doing all right and didn’t realize it, but it always seemed like a struggle to me.' Any evidence of Herman’s struggles as a player is difficult to find. From the time he spent his first full season in the big league as a 22-year old in 1932, Herman was one of the best players in baseball. A 10-time All-Star, Herman finished his career with a .304 batting average and 2,345 hits, despite serving in the Navy for two years during World War II.

The March 20, 1941, edition of the Sporting News brandished this headline on page 5: "Loyal Watchers Daffy About Dodgers’ Flag Chances; Scribes Already Arguing About World Series Plans." Brooklyn’s "Bums" had finished a distant second to Cincinnati in 1940, but the beat writers were predicting an all-New York World Series come October. The hubbub surrounding the Dodgers’ chances was a pitching staff led by Kirby Higbe and Whitlow Wyatt. Big things were expected of Pete Reiser, who was taking over in center field for Dixie Walker, who was shifting to right. It was believed that Joe Medwick would bounce back from a subpar 1940 season. If there was one position the Dodgers might need to shore up for a successful pennant run, it was second base.

In 1935, Billy collected 57 doubles, a record for National League second basemen. Read about this Hall of Fame second baseman and see his statistics.

Billy Herman, 83, a Hall of Fame second baseman with the Chicago Cubs in the 1930s who played in three World Series for the North Siders, died Saturday in Florida from cancer.Mr. Herman, a resident

Career: 47 HR, .304 BA, 839 RBI, 2B/3B, HOF in 1975, 10xAllStar, Cubs/Dodgers/... 1931-1947, b:R/t:R, 1x H Leader, born in Unite. 1909, died 1992

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William Jennings Bryan "Billy" Herman (July 7, 1909 – September 5, 1992) was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1930s and 1940s. Known for his stellar defense and consistent batting, Herman still holds many National League (NL) defensive records for second basemen and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.