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William Joseph Rigney (January 29, 1918 – February 20, 2001) was an American professional infielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). A 26-year veteran in the major leagues, Rigney played for the New York Giants from to , then spent 18 seasons as the skipper of three major-league clubs. The San Francisco Bay Area native began his managerial career with the Giants and served as the team's last manager in New York City (). In , Rigney became the first manager in the history of the Los Angeles Angels of the American League, serving until May of . Then, in , he managed the Minnesota Twins to the American League West Division championship, the only postseason entry of his big-league tenure. Fired midseason in , he concluded his managerial career in by serving a one-year term at the helm of his original team, the Giants.
Acquired by the Giants during the war, he was a 28-year-old rookie in and played third baseman, shortstop and second baseman during his MLB career—appearing in over 100 games played in each of his first four MLB seasons. Rigney was the Giants' regular third baseman in and their starting second baseman in both and . His most productive season came in 1947, when he reached career highs in (17), runs batted in (59), runs (84), hits (142), doubles (24) and games played (130). In 1948, he was selected to the National League All-Star team; in the 1948 midsummer classic, on July 13 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis, he drew a base on balls off Joe Coleman in his only plate appearance.
On August 12, 1950, Rigney replaced Eddie Stanky at second base after Stanky had been ejected from a game against the Phillies for repeatedly waving his arms while Andy Seminick was batting. Seminick was still irritated, and after he reached base on an error in the fourth inning, he slid hard into second base, crashing into Rigney and causing him to fall over. A nearly ten-minute brawl erupted between the teams, which required police intervention and resulted in the ejection of Seminick and Rigney from the game. The Phillies went on to win 4–3. (1980). 9780525232643, E. P. Dutton. ISBN 9780525232643
As a utility infielder, Rigney was a member of the NL champion Giants, and he appeared in four games of the 1951 World Series, collecting one hit in four at bats (a single off Vic Raschi), with one run batted in, as a pinch hitter.
As a big-leaguer, Rigney was a .259 career batsman with 510 hits, 41 home runs and 212 runs batted in over 654 games.
But upon their move to San Francisco in 1958—and rejuvenated by young players such as Orlando Cepeda, Jim Davenport, Felipe Alou, and, later, Willie McCovey—the Giants returned to the first division and contended for the NL pennant into the final regular-season weekend in . The 1960 Giants moved into new Candlestick Park and were expected to again contend for the league title. They got off the mark quickly, winning 20 of their first 29 games. But then they stumbled, losing 16 of their next 29, and were coming off a three-game series sweep at home by the eventual world champion Pittsburgh Pirates when, on June 17, Rigney was fired. At 33–25, his club was in second place, four games behind Pittsburgh, when Rigney was dismissed. Tom Sheehan, the veteran scout who replaced Rigney, fared even more poorly, however, going only 46–50 as the Giants plummeted into fifth place by season's end.
While the Angels' maiden edition lost 91 games and finished eighth in the ten-team AL, the team, paced by young Dean Chance and Bo Belinsky, stunned baseball by finishing in third place with an 86–76 record during their second season of existence. As a result, Rigney was named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News.
During Rigney's eight full years with the Angels, the club played in three home ballparks—Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium and Anaheim Stadium—and also compiled winning records in and . But , Rigney's ninth season, proved catastrophic. The Angels started the year 11–28 and were mired in a ten-game losing streak when Rigney was fired on May 27 and succeeded by Lefty Phillips. Later in 1969, Rigney joined the San Francisco Giants' radio broadcast team to close out the season; coincidentally, KSFO, the Giants flagship station, was then owned by Autry and Reynolds.
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After leaving the Giants at the close of his second managerial term in 1976, he served as a front-office consultant and a radio and television broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics in the 1980s.
Rigney died in Walnut Creek, California, at age of 83.
The "Bill Rigney Good Guy Award" is given each year to a San Francisco Giant and Oakland Athletic who is most accommodating to the media.
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