Whitey Wietelmann

William Frederick Wietelmann

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut September 6, 1939
• Final Game September 18, 1947
• Born March 15, 1919 in Zanesville, OH USA
• Died March 26, 2002 in San Diego, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Shortstop Whitey Wietelmann made his big league debut in 1939 with the Boston Bees, where he earned the nickname "Whitey" from manager Casey Stengel.

After his major league career ended, he joined the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1949 and began a longtime association with San Diego baseball. He played for the Padres for four seasons (1949-1952). He went down to the Wichita Falls Spudders in 1953 as player/manager where he also started pitching. By 1955, he led the Arizona-Mexico League in games pitched and hits allowed while going 21-13 as player manager of the Yuma Sun Sox. He retired as a player and manager after the 1956 season in Yuma.

Wietelman was a coach for the Sacramento Solons in 1959 and the Padres from 1959 to 1965. After spending two years as a Cincinnati Reds coach, Wietelmann returned to southern California as coach of the last minor league Padre team in 1968 and coach of the expansion San Diego Padres when they began play in 1969. He remained with the team in that capacity for eleven seasons and then spent the next fourteen serving the club in a variety of roles that included scouting, fixing equipment, and even cooking the team's meals and helping with the laundry. Over his years with the Padres, Wietelmann earned the nickname "Mr. Indispensable", and he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Padres' first-ever home playoff game in 1984.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1953	Wichita Falls Spudders	Big State League	85-58	1st	Milwaukee Braves	League Champs
1954	Lincoln Chiefs	Western League	51-61	--	Milwaukee Braves	--	replaced by Red McQuillen (11-27) on August 6
1955	Yuma Sun Sox	Arizona-Mexico League	83-57	2nd	none	none
1956	Yuma Sun Sox	Arizona-Mexico League	8-18 37-18	5th	Cincinnati Redlegs	Lost League Finals	replaced by Bill Harris (21-29) on May 15 replaced Harris on July 5
1961	San Diego Padres	Pacific Coast League	1-5	--	Chicago White Sox	--	replaced Jimmie Reese (39-44) on July 6 replaced by Bill Norman (32-33) on July 12