Yanks Hire Virdon, But Dick Williams Remains In Picture

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees, their hopes of having Dick Williams as manager snarled in a legal tangle with Oakland owner Charlie Finley, settled instead Thursday on Bill Virdon, who was fired last September by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Virdon accepted a one-year contract for a reported $40,000 and called it a "dream" to manage the Yankees -- but it's anyone's guess how long he'll really be their boss.

Introduced to a news conference at the Yankees' office less than a month after Williams, the manager of Oakland's two-time world champions, was signed to a three-year contract -- later voided -- Virdon insisted, "I'm not concerned about Dick Williams." But one man who obviously still was concerned about Williams was New York owner George Steinbrenner.

"I can't say we've abandoned the idea of signing Dick Williams," Steinhrenner said, 'If he gets free, we'd have to cross that bridge if we come to it." Williams' New York contract was voided by outgoing American League president Joe Cronin after Finley filed a federal court suit to force Williams to honor the remaining two seasons on his A's contract.

[source: upi]