Billy Wilhelm (June 11, 1929 – December 24, 2010)[1] was an American college baseball coach who was the head coach of the Clemson Tigers from 1958 to 1993. In his 36 seasons as head coach, Wilhelm had a record of 1,161–536–10. Before coming to Clemson, Wilhelm played several seasons of minor league baseball and served one season as an assistant baseball coach at North Carolina.[2]
.png) Wilhelm in 1977 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1929 |
| Died | December 24, 2010 (aged 81) Seneca, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Catawba College |
| Playing career | |
| 1948–1949 | NC State |
| 1950 | Goldsboro Cardinals |
| 1950 | Allentown Cardinals |
| 1953 | Paducah Chiefs |
| 1953 | Albany Cardinals |
| 1954 | Columbus Cardinals |
| 1954 | Allentown Cardinals |
| 1955 | Jacksonville Braves |
| 1956 | Atlanta Crackers |
| 1957 | Greensboro Patriots |
| Position(s) | Catcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1957 | North Carolina (assistant) |
| 1958–1993 | Clemson |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1,161–536–10 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 17 ACC Regular season Championships (1958, 1959, 1967, 1973–1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992) 7 ACC Tournament championships (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993) 17 NCAA tournament Appearances (1958, 1959, 1967, 1975–1981, 1987–1993) 6 College World Series Appearances (1958, 1959, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1991) | |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2011 | |
Playing career
editWilhelm played two seasons of college baseball at NC State, and he signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1950, splitting that season between the Goldsboro Cardinals and the Allentown Cardinals. Wilhelm then spent two years out of baseball from 1951 to 1952, when he served in the United States Army in the Korean War.[2]
In 1953, Wilhelm returned from military service and had his most successful minor league season. In 96 games with the Paducah Chiefs of the Class D Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League, he batted .291 and hit 14 home runs. After the 1954 season, which he split between the Columbus Cardinals and the Allentown Cardinals, Wilhelm left the Cardinals organization.[3]
Wilhelm played the 1955 and 1956 seasons in the Milwaukee Braves system, advancing as high as the Double-A Atlanta Crackers. He played his final season of professional baseball in summer 1957, with the Greensboro Patriots of the Boston Red Sox organization.[3]
He appeared in a total of 401 minor league games, hitting .212 with 21 home runs.[3]
Coaching career
editPrior to his final season of professional baseball in summer 1957, Wilhelm had served as an assistant baseball coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels in spring 1957. In September 1957, Wilhelm accepted the head coaching position at Clemson.[2]
In his first two seasons, Wilhelm led the program to two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and its first two College World Series appearances, in 1958 and 1959. In the next 13 season (1960–1972), however, Clemson made only one NCAA tournament appearance, in 1967.[4]
With the start of the ACC tournament era in 1973, Wilhelm began a stretch of 11 regular season conference championships in 13 seasons (through 1985), including seven consecutive from 1973 to 1979. This 13-season period included three College World Series appearances, in 1976, 1977, and 1980.[4]
From 1986 to 1993, the final eight seasons of Wilhelm's head coaching career, Clemson won three regular season conference championships (1988, 1991, 1992), three conference tournament championships (1989, 1991, and 1993), and one College World Series appearance (1991).[4]
Wilhelm's teams had winning records in each of his 36 seasons, and he won a total of 17 ACC Regular season Championships and seven ACC Tournament championships, both ACC coaching records, as of the end of the 2012 season.[5] He also appeared in six College World Series. He coached 27 players who went on to play Major League Baseball.[4]
Head coaching record
editThe following is a table of Wilhelm's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[4]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1958–1993) | |||||||||
| 1958 | Clemson | 22-8 | 11-3 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1959 | Clemson | 24-8 | 9-5 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1960 | Clemson | 11-10-1 | 7-6 | 4th | |||||
| 1961 | Clemson | 12-11 | 6-8 | 5th | |||||
| 1962 | Clemson | 17-8 | 8-6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1963 | Clemson | 15-11 | 9-5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1964 | Clemson | 13-13 | 6-7 | T–4th | |||||
| 1965 | Clemson | 18-10-2 | 9-5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1966 | Clemson | 20-7-2 | 9-4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1967 | Clemson | 29-9 | 11-2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1968 | Clemson | 27-14 | 11-7 | 4th | |||||
| 1969 | Clemson | 27-17-2 | 12-8-1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1970 | Clemson | 32-16 | 14-7 | 2nd | |||||
| 1971 | Clemson | 27-14 | 10-4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1972 | Clemson | 19-15 | 6-7 | 5th | |||||
| 1973 | Clemson | 24-16 | 10-2 | T–1st | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1974 | Clemson | 23-15 | 10-1 | 1st | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1975 | Clemson | 33-10 | 10-2 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1976 | Clemson | 36-15 | 10-2 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1977 | Clemson | 42-10 | 9-1 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1978 | Clemson | 39-14 | 10-2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1979 | Clemson | 40-15 | 10-1 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1980 | Clemson | 38-21 | 6-5 | 3rd | College World Series | ||||
| 1981 | Clemson | 34-24 | 10-4 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1982 | Clemson | 37-22 | 10-2 | 1st | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1983 | Clemson | 30-20-1 | 6-5 | 3rd | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1984 | Clemson | 38-17 | 12-2 | T–1st | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1985 | Clemson | 36-30-1 | 9-4 | T–1st | ACC tournament[a] | ||||
| 1986 | Clemson | 42-21 | 9-4 | 3rd | ACC tournament | ||||
| 1987 | Clemson | 54-14-1 | 16-5 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1988 | Clemson | 54-14 | 18-2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1989 | Clemson | 50-20 | 13-5 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1990 | Clemson | 43-23 | 14-6 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1991 | Clemson | 60-10 | 18-3 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1992 | Clemson | 50-14 | 19-5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1993 | Clemson | 45-20 | 11-11 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Total: | 1,161-536-10 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Death and posthumous awards
editWilhelm died at the age of 81 on December 24, 2010, in Seneca, South Carolina.[2] Following his death, he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.[6][7]
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit
- ^ "Guest Book for Billy (Bill) Wilhelm (June 11, 1929 - December 24, 2010)". Robinson Funeral Home. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c d London, Mike (December 26, 2010). "Bill Wilhelm Dies". SalisburyPost.com. The Salisbury Post. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c "William Wilhelm". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "2012 Clemson Tigers Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). Clemson Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Media Guide". TheACC.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "Clemson Legend Bill Wilhelm Inducted Into National College Baseball Hall of Fame". ClemsonTigers.com. July 5, 2011. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "Bill Wilhelm Elected to South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame". OrangeAndWhite.com. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2012.