William Frederick "Woody" Woodward (born September 23, 1942, in Miami, Florida) is a retired player and general manager in Major League Baseball. He played for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1963-1968) and the Cincinnati Reds (1968-1971) and was later the general manager of the New York Yankees (1985-1988) and the Seattle Mariners (1989-1999). Woodward played college baseball for the Florida State University Seminoles. He returned to FSU from 1975-1978 its head baseball coach. A shortstop and second baseman, Woodward hit for a .236 batting average with one home run and 148 runs batted in. On October 4, 1971, shortly before his retirement, Woodward was involved in a curious incident in which a ten-pound sack of flour, presumably dropped from an aircraft, fell to the ground at Dodger Stadium and exploded some ten feet in front of his position at shortstop. One newspaper reported that the "the sack of flour was heavy enough to kill anyone it hit." The Dodgers reported the event to the Federal Aviation Administration, but no aircraft were reported seen flying over the stadium at the time, and the culprit is not known to have ever been found.[1] He is a cousin of actress Joanne Woodward.
Quote
- "We've figured it out. It will take him 4,189 years to catch Babe Ruth." - teammate Wayne Granger, after Woodward finally hit his first home run in his eighth season
References
- ^ Oxnard (California) Press-Courier, Oct. 5, 1971
External links
| Preceded by Clyde King |
New York Yankees General Manager 1987 |
Succeeded by Bob Quinn |
| Preceded by Tony Siegle |
Philadelphia Phillies General Manager 1987–1988 |
Succeeded by Lee Thomas |
| Preceded by Dick Balderson |
Seattle Mariners General Manager 1988–1999 |
Succeeded by Pat Gillick |
