Former major league manager and player Billy Gardner watches his son, Billy Gardner Jr., manage the Syracuse Chiefs on Sunday at NBT Bank Stadium in 2015. Gardner, a former Yankees infielder, died recently at 96.

Billy Gardner won a pair of World Series championships — in 1954 as a starting second baseman with the New York Giants, and in 1961 as a utility infielder with the Yankees alongside Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who set the AL single-season home run record that year.

He died last week at his home in Connecticut at the age of 96.

Gardner led American League second basemen in fielding percentage in 1957 (.987), during a season that included 55 consecutive errorless games, and he finished with a .976 fielding mark all-time.

In all or parts of 10 seasons, Gardner batted .237 with 41 home runs and 271 RBIs in 1,034 games played. He picked up 841 hits, with 159 doubles and 18 triples in 3,544 career at-bats. He finished with 19 career steals.

After his playing career, Gardner stepped in to manage the Kansas City Royals when former Yankees manager Dick Howser was disagnosed with deadly brain cancer in 1986.

His obit reads:

He was a natural athlete at Chapman Tech and was signed by the NY Giants in 1944 at 17 years old. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1946. He returned to baseball in 1947. He played several years in the Giants Minor League system and broke into the big leagues in 1954, the same year the NY Giants won the World Series. He was traded to the Orioles in 1956, where he had his best years. He led the American League in double plays and doubles in 1957, with the Orioles. He received the Orioles MVP in 1957. He enjoyed 10 years in Major League Baseball including the 1961 Yankees World Series team. His nickname was “Slick” because he “could turn a double play in a phone booth.” After his playing years, he spent more than 30 years scouting, coaching and managing in the Minors and Majors including managing the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.