Bill Scripture
Encyclopedia
Earl Wayne "Billy" Scripture (born November 20, 1941, at Pensacola, Florida
) is an American
former outfielder
, third baseman
, manager
and instructor in professional baseball
. An All-America
baseball standout at Wake Forest University
, Scripture threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg) in his playing days.
Scripture signed with the Baltimore Orioles
after his matriculation from Wake Forest, but never reached the Major League Baseball
level. He batted
.252 in 891 games over nine seasons (1964–72) in the Baltimore and New York Mets
farm systems, with 58 home runs. His last five seasons as an active player were spent at the Triple-A level with the Rochester Red Wings
and Tidewater Tides. Scripture then became a minor league manager and instructor in the Kansas City Royals
and Pittsburgh Pirates
systems, peaking at the Double-A level and having only one winning season in five years as a skipper.
However, Scripture earned a reputation throughout professional baseball for his intensity, dedication to teaching, and his toughness. The most quoted stories about Scripture described his habit of biting the covers off baseballs when frustrated. "Only lost one molar so far," Scripture said in 1975, "and that's a whole lot less expensive than an ulcer operation."
"He was tough, maybe the toughest I've ever seen," then-Royals athletic trainer
Mickey Cobb told Sports Illustrated
for a 1987 profile on Scripture. "I remember a time when he had 19 blisters on one hand from hitting. He just came in and poured alcohol on it. No Band-Aids. Other times, he would deliberately have someone hit flies out to the warning track so he could practice running full speed into the chain-link fence."
Yet he was also a highly respected coach and manager. "There were people who would complain that he was tough to work with, but there was never any question about his competence as an instructor or manager," then-Pirates farm director Branch Barrett Rickey told SI in 1987. "Almost everybody remembers him fondly. It's just that Bill's singularness of purpose sometimes clashed with the aims of individual minor league franchises. With Bill, there was not a lot of accommodation to the owner's needs."
After leaving the game in the mid-1980s, Scripture focused on his greatest passion, trap shooting
. According to the SI profile he opened a gun shop in Virginia Beach, Virginia
, and operated shooting ranges. He was elected to the Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
, third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
and instructor in professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. An All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
baseball standout at Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
, Scripture threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg) in his playing days.
Scripture signed with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
after his matriculation from Wake Forest, but never reached the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
level. He batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.252 in 891 games over nine seasons (1964–72) in the Baltimore and New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
farm systems, with 58 home runs. His last five seasons as an active player were spent at the Triple-A level with the Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
and Tidewater Tides. Scripture then became a minor league manager and instructor in the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
and Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
systems, peaking at the Double-A level and having only one winning season in five years as a skipper.
However, Scripture earned a reputation throughout professional baseball for his intensity, dedication to teaching, and his toughness. The most quoted stories about Scripture described his habit of biting the covers off baseballs when frustrated. "Only lost one molar so far," Scripture said in 1975, "and that's a whole lot less expensive than an ulcer operation."
"He was tough, maybe the toughest I've ever seen," then-Royals athletic trainer
Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....
Mickey Cobb told Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
for a 1987 profile on Scripture. "I remember a time when he had 19 blisters on one hand from hitting. He just came in and poured alcohol on it. No Band-Aids. Other times, he would deliberately have someone hit flies out to the warning track so he could practice running full speed into the chain-link fence."
Yet he was also a highly respected coach and manager. "There were people who would complain that he was tough to work with, but there was never any question about his competence as an instructor or manager," then-Pirates farm director Branch Barrett Rickey told SI in 1987. "Almost everybody remembers him fondly. It's just that Bill's singularness of purpose sometimes clashed with the aims of individual minor league franchises. With Bill, there was not a lot of accommodation to the owner's needs."
After leaving the game in the mid-1980s, Scripture focused on his greatest passion, trap shooting
Trap shooting
Trap shooting is one of the three major forms of competitive clay pigeon shooting . The others are skeet shooting and sporting clays. There are many versions including Olympic trap, Double trap , Down-The-Line, and Nordic trap. American trap is most popular in the United States and Canada...
. According to the SI profile he opened a gun shop in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
, and operated shooting ranges. He was elected to the Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.
External links
- http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065929/1/index.htmGarrity, John, Quoting From Scripture, Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, May 4, 1987] - 2009 Interview with Scripture