Lawrence William Shepard (April 3, 1919 – April 5, 2011) was an Americanprofessional baseballplayer,manager, andpitching coach. He managed thePittsburgh Pirates ofMajor League Baseball to a 164–155win–loss record in1968 and1969.

Larry Shepard
Manager
Born:(1919-04-03)April 3, 1919 Lakewood, Ohio, U.S.
Died: April 5, 2011(2011-04-05) (aged 92) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB statistics
Games managed	320
Win–loss record	164–155
Winning %	.514
Managerial record atBaseball Reference
Teams
As manager Pittsburgh Pirates (1968–1969) As coach Philadelphia Phillies (1967) Cincinnati Reds (1970–1978) San Francisco Giants (1979)
Career highlights and awards
2×World Series champion (1975,1976)

Although he was born inLakewood, Ohio, United States, Shepard lived with his family after the age of 14 inMontréal, Québec, Canada,^[1] where he attendedMcGill University.^[2]

During his playing days, Shepard was a right-handedpitcher who playedminor league baseball from 1941 through 1956, with time out forUnited States Army service duringWorld War II. He was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg). He became a playing manager in theBrooklyn Dodgers'farm system in 1948, with theMedford Nuggets of the Class DFar West League. His club finished second, thanks to the 22–3 record of its star pitcher – Shepard himself. He then moved up to theBillings Mustangs of the Class CPioneer League, where, as a pitcher, he won 21, 22 and 24 games in successive (1949–51) seasons. As a skipper, his 1949 club won the league playoffs.

In 1952 and part of 1953, Shepard took a break from managing, becoming strictly arelief pitcher for theHollywood Stars of thePacific Coast League. Concurrently, he left the Dodger system for the Pirates' organization. He resumed his managerial career in the middle of the 1953 season in the Pittsburgh system, winning the 1956 and 1957Western League championships with theLincoln Chiefs. From 1958 through 1966, he managed at theTriple-A level for Pittsburgh with theSalt Lake City Bees andColumbus Jets, notching three first-place finishes.

In 1967, Shepard reached the Major League level when he was namedpitching coach of thePhiladelphia Phillies. After only one season, he was appointed manager of the Pirates. In his two seasons as skipper of the Bucs, Pittsburgh finished sixth in the ten-teamNational League in 1968 (with a record of 80–82) and fourth in theNL East at 84–73 in 1969 (when Shepard was released, that September 25). During his two seasons at the helm, he managed the legendaryRoberto Clemente; Clementebatted .291 and .336, respectively, under Shepard.

After his firing by the Pirates, Shepard returned to the coaching ranks. He was the pitching coach of the fabledCincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" dynasty underSparky Anderson from 1970 through 1978, with the Reds winning four National Leaguepennants, twoWorld Series championships, and fiveNL West titles over that nine-year stretch. He finished his coaching career with theSan Francisco Giants in 1979, thenscouted for the Giants.

Shepard died inLincoln, Nebraska, at age 92 in 2011, and was buried there at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

• Career statistics fromBaseball Reference (Minors), orRetrosheet
• Larry Shepard managerial career statistics atBaseball-Reference.com
• Larry Shepard at SABR (Baseball BioProject)