Billy Hunter (baseball)

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Gordon William Hunter (born June 4, 1928 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania) is a retired American shortstop, coach and manager in Major League Baseball.

A slick-fielding, light-hitting shortstop, the righthanded-batting Hunter was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. With his path to the majors blocked by future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese, he was sold to the St. Louis Browns of the American League in October 1952. Hunter was the starting shortstop for the last Browns club in 1953 and the first modern MLB Orioles team when the Brownies transferred to Baltimore in 1954. For the remainder of his career, however, he was a second-string infielder for the New York Yankees, Kansas City A's and Cleveland Indians. Hunter batted a meek .219 in 630 games over his six-year (1953-58) AL career.

When Hunter's playing career ended, he managed in the Baltimore farm system and became the Orioles' third-base coach in 1964. He performed that role for almost 14 seasons for four AL champions and two World Series winners. He left the Orioles on June 28, 1977 to take the helm of the Texas Rangers - the club's fourth skipper that season. Under Hunter, the Rangers won 60 of their final 93 games and climbed from fourth to second place in the AL West. Hopes were high for 1978, but the Rangers underachieved and finished tied for second, five games behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals. After turning down a five-year contract extension in midseason, offered by Texas's unpredictable young owner, Brad Corbett, Hunter was fired with one day left in the campaign.

Hunter's record over his one-and-a-half seasons was a stellar 146-108 (.575), but he never returned to the major leagues as a coach or manager. He became head baseball coach and athletic director at Maryland's Towson State University, retiring in 1995.