Wickel hit .300 in the minors eight times and won three pennants in nine seasons as a minor league manager before spending almost four decades as a scout, mostly for the Cardinals and Cubs. He helped sign John Denny, Al Hrabosky, and Bill Caudill, but his best decision may have been as manager of Williamson in 1939, when he used pitcher Stan Musial as an outfielder and pinch hitter.
