After playing in the minors for the Yankees organization, Virdon was traded to the Cardinals, and he made his MLB debut in 1955.

His parents, Bertha and Charles Virdon, were originally from Missouri, but moved to Hazel Park during the Great Depression, where they were able to find jobs in automotive factories.

[1] Virdon remained stuck behind Mickey Mantle on the Yankees' depth chart for center field, while Gene Woodling and Hank Bauer played the corner outfield positions.

The Yankees traded Virdon to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1954 season with Mel Wright and Emil Tellinger for veteran outfielder and All-Star Enos Slaughter.

[5] The Cardinals assigned Virdon to the Rochester Red Wings of the Class AAA International League for the season.

[6] He was named the winner of the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, beating Jack Meyer of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Virdon slumped to begin the 1956 season, and the Cardinals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in May 1956 for Bobby Del Greco and Dick Littlefield.

[1] Lane claimed that Virdon's late season slump in 1955 was because he tired down the stretch, and that is why he chose to trade him.

[8] When he arrived at Pittsburgh, he developed an eye condition, for which he received treatment, missing one week of the season.

[1][9] Pirates' announcer Bob Prince gave Virdon the nickname "Quail" due to the frequency of his soft-hit infield hits.

In the deciding Game 7, he hit a ground ball that struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat after taking an unpredictable bounce, enabling Virdon to reach base safely.

This started a rally for the Pirates that culminated in Bill Mazeroski's home run that won the series for Pittsburgh.

Virdon hit an impressive .404 against Sandy Koufax, the highest average of any batter facing the legendary Hall of Fame pitcher.

[22] Virdon joined the Pirates' major league coaching staff under manager Larry Shepard in 1968.

[1] As a manager, Virdon led the Pirates to the 1972 NL East division title, but the Pirates lost the 1972 National League Championship Series (NLCS) to the Cincinnati Reds when Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Moose unleashed a wild pitch in the final inning of Game 5, allowing the winning run to score.

Further struggles included pitcher Steve Blass' inability to throw strikes and injuries to Dock Ellis.

The Athletics demanded prospects Otto Vélez and Scott McGregor as compensation for Williams, but the Yankees decided the price was too steep.

[28] Virdon led the Yankees to a competitive finish, one game behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division.

[1] He received a death threat due to his preference of playing Elliott Maddox over Murcer in center field.

Tal Smith, who had served as executive vice president for the Yankees, had become the Astros' general manager on August 7.

The Astros tied the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division championship in 1980, and defeated them in the 1980 NL West tie-breaker game.

[34] Due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, the 1981 season was split into halves with each half's winner appearing in the 1981 NL Division Series.

Beset by injuries to relievers Joe Sambito and Dave Smith that each saw them miss significant time, the Astros lost over a dozen games in late innings.

[36][37][38] The Montreal Expos hired Virdon as their manager before the 1983 season, replacing Jim Fanning, and signed him to a two-year contract.

He worked as a spring training instructor for the Cardinals in 1990 and 1991, and then rejoined Leyland's coaching staff in Pittsburgh in 1992.

[44] The Pirates brought Virdon back as their bench coach for the 2001 season under first-time manager Lloyd McClendon.