Sunday, 22 December 2024

Ned Hanlon

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Baseball
Statistics: 5 National League Pennants (1894, 1895, 1896, 1899 & 1900)
1,313-1,164 Record
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Ned Hanlon was considered to be the "Father of Modern Baseball," which might be the best compliment ever bestowed on a historical sports figure.

Hanlon was a quality baseball player through the 1880s known mostly for his baserunning. He became a player/manager first with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1889, and he, along with the bulk of the team, bolted for the Player's League and the Pittsburgh Burghers in 1890. The league folded after a year, and he returned to the Alleghenys, who would be quickly renamed the Pirates. He didn’t stay long, as he again bolted, this time for the Baltimore Orioles, where his most productive years began.

With Baltimore, Hanlon assembled a team that would field six future Baseball Hall of Famers. Hanlon developed a style called "inside baseball," which focused on executing hit and runs, bunting, and sacrifice plays. He was also one of the first to utilize platooning players, based on desired matchups depending on which side of the plate there were against either a lefthanded or righthanded pitcher. It was the catalyst for modern baseball strategy, and it helped Baltimore win three National League pennants.

Hanlon left the financially struggling Orioles for the Brooklyn Superbas in 1899, whom he managed to pennants in his first two seasons there. He stayed there until 1905 and would then have two more years as a manager with the Cincinnati Reds.

Hanlon left behind not only a legacy of winning but a coaching/mentoring tree that produced Connie Mack, John McGraw, Miller Huggins, Wilbert Robertson, Hughie Jennings, and Fielder Jones.

We are proud to nominate Ned Hanlon for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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