RIP to Earl “Billy” Scripture, a star baseball player at Wake Forest who went on to a career as a minor-league player, manager and instructor. He died on November 11, 2018 at the age of 76.
Scripture was a two-time All-American outfielder for Wake Forest in 1963 and 1964 and a three-time all-ACC Player. He had a .337 batting average in college with 26 homers and 106 RBIs. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and made his minor-league debut with the Stockton Ports in 1964. He had a career-high 11 home runs that season.
Scripture played in the minors for the Orioles and New York Mets until 1972. In his 9 seasons as a third baseman and outfielder, he slashed .251/.340/.368, with 58 home runs and 417 RBIs. He also played a handful of games at second base, pitched twice and even played a game at catcher.
After his retirement as an active player, Scripture managed in the minors off and on from 1973-1984 for the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He had a career 294-382 managerial record in five seasons. His best year was in 1973, when the rookie manager led the Waterloo Royals to a 64-56 record.
According to his obituary (see below), Scripture was a minor-league coordinator in the Royals system when he wasn’t managing for them. After his baseball career, he managed trap and gun clubs and carved duck decoys.
RIP Baseball 