.png) Wilhelm in 1977 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1929 |
| Died | December 24, 2010(2010-12-24) (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 (.683) |
| 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) 6College World Series Appearances (1958,1959,1976,1977,1980,1991) | |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2011 | |
Billy Wilhelm (June 11, 1929 – December 24, 2010)[1] was an Americancollege baseball coach who was the head coach of theClemson 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 atNorth Carolina.[2]
Wilhelm played two seasons of college baseball atNC State, and he signed a professional contract with theSt. Louis Cardinals organization in 1950, splitting that season between theGoldsboro Cardinals and theAllentown Cardinals. Wilhelm then spent two years out of baseball from 1951 to 1952, when he served in theUnited States Army in theKorean War.[2]
In 1953, Wilhelm returned from military service and had his most successful minor league season. In 96 games with thePaducah Chiefs of theClass DKentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League, hebatted .291 and hit 14home runs. After the 1954 season, which he split between theColumbus Cardinals and theAllentown Cardinals, Wilhelm left the Cardinals organization.[3]
Wilhelm played the 1955 and 1956 seasons in theMilwaukee Braves system, advancing as high as theDouble-AAtlanta Crackers. He played his final season of professional baseball in summer 1957, with theGreensboro Patriots of theBoston Red Sox organization.[3]
He appeared in a total of 401 minor league games, hitting .212 with 21 home runs.[3]
Prior to his final season of professional baseball in summer 1957, Wilhelm had served as an assistant baseball coach for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels in spring 1957. In September 1957, Wilhelm accepted the head coaching position atClemson.[2]
In his first two seasons, Wilhelm led the program to twoAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and its first twoCollege World Series appearances, in1958 and1959. In the next 13 season (1960–1972), however, Clemson made only one NCAA tournament appearance, in1967.[4]
With the start of theACC 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 threeCollege World Series appearances, in1976,1977, and1980.[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, and1993), 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 playMajor League Baseball.[4]
The 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 | |||||||||
Wilhelm died at the age of 81 on December 24, 2010, inSeneca, South Carolina.[2] Following his death, he was inducted into theNational College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and theSouth Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.[6][7]
