William Reginald Armour (September 3, 1869 – December 2, 1922) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was the manager of the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902 when they signed Nap Lajoie to the most lucrative contract in baseball history and the manager of the Detroit Tigers when they acquired Ty Cobb in 1905.
Armour played professional baseball from 1891 to 1896 as a center fielder and right fielder for several minor teams. He earned a reputation for his fielding abilities. He also had excellent speed and stole 43 bases in 69 games in 1891 and 52 bases in 126 games in 1896. Armour began his managerial career with the Dayton, Ohio baseball club, of which he was also the principal owner. He managed the Dayton club from 1897 to 1901.
From 1902 to 1904, he was the manager of the Cleveland Bronchos/Naps. Armour took over a Cleveland team with a losing record, and during his three years there, the team's record improved each year, reaching 86-65 in 1904. From 1905 to 1906, he was the manager of the Detroit Tigers. In his first year in Detroit, the team improved by 17 games over the prior year. With the signing of Ty Cobb, the Tigers set the table for three consecutive American League pennants that followed from 1907 to 1909. From 1907 to 1911, Armour served as the president and co-owner of the Toledo Mud Hens. He served as a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1912 and next became business manager of the Milwaukee baseball club. He subsequently opened a restaurant in Minneapolis where he died in 1922 at age 53.
Early years
Armour was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1869.
Baseball player
Armour played professional baseball for several years before he began his career as a manager. In 1891, at age 21, he appeared in 69 games, principally as a right fielder, for the Bradford, Pennsylvania club in the New York–Pennsylvania League. By May 1891, Armour was drawing for his fielding ability. The manager of the Meadville team wrote to the Sporting Life that his team might have one at least one game against Bradford "had not that great fielder, Armour, been playing. In the tenth inning of the first game, with one out and Lyons on second, he caught a line hit foul on which he doubled up Lyons and put an end to what, at that stage of the game, looked like a Meadville victory. It was the finest catch on the grounds this season." Armour compiled a .269 batting average and stole 43 bases for Bradford.
At the end of August 1891, Armour signed with Oshkosh in the Wisconsin State League and played the remainder of the season there. In 1892, Armour appeared in 52 games, principally in right field, for the Toledo Black Pirates of the Western League. His batting average dropped by 124 points to .144 over his performance the prior year with Bradford.
In 1893, Armour played for the Kansas City Blues in the Western Association and saw his batting average jump to .280 with 22 runs scored and 14 stolen bases in only 20 games. Armour also returned to Bradford in 1893 to play in 20 games, including the game that won the Monongahela League pennant for Braddock. The use of Armour, a Western Association player, in the game prompted a protest by the Duquesne club that Braddock's pennant be forfeited. The pennant was ultimately awarded to Braddock.
Armour signed to play with Buffalo in January 1894, but was badly injured in a coasting accident at his hometown of Homestead in February 1894. Initial reports indicated that physicians did not believe Armour could recover. The following month, Armour was recuperating, and a Buffalo correspondent wrote to the Sporting Life expressing hope for his recovery, as "Armour is highly thought of as a fielder and is expected to greatly strengthen our out field." In mid-April 1894, Armour announced that the injury, which had nearly broken his back, would prevent him from playing baseball for six weeks to two months. Official records reflect Armour playing only three games in 1894. After being released by Buffalo, he played in one game each for three Pennsylvania State League teams -- Easton, Scranton, and Altoona.