Wednesday, 04 December 2024

Casey Stengel

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Baseball
Statistics: 7 World Series Championships (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956 & 1958)
1,905-1,842 Record
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Number retired by the New York Yankees
Number retired by the New York Mets
Named to the Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Considered eccentric even when he was a player, Casey Stengel won two World Series titles when he was with the New York Giants in the early 1920s. Stengel began managing after his playing career ended, first in the minors, and then landed the managing job with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1934. Stengel and a talent starved Dodgers team did not do well, and he was fired after three seasons, and he had similar "success" in his second MLB managing job with the Boston Braves. Like Brooklyn, Boston did not have the horses to compete, and Stengel could not coerce a winning record.

Stengel was released in 1943, and he continued his career as a manager in the minors, with the highlight being managing the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific League to a title and winning the Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. It put him back in the conversation to return to the majors, which was with the granddaddy of them all, the New York Yankees.

Stengel managed New York from 1949 to 1960, which was the most successful period in franchise history. While the Yankees were blessed with talent, Stengel utilized platoons and a regular reliever, which were unique from the time. The Yankees won seven World Series titles under Stengel, and his run in the 1950s is the most successful decade of any manager in the history of the Majors.

At age 70, Stengel was either fired or stepped down, depending on what you believe. Evidently, Stengel wasn’t done, as he accepted the manager’s position for the expansion New York Mets. The Mets were awful, as to be expected in a new team, and Stengel was the draw and arguably the main attraction. He was only there three years, as a broken hip hindered him in 1965, and Stengel's career ended after that, but his famous quotes continue to live on.

When Major League Baseball put together their all-time team, it was Stengel who was pegged as the manager. That says it all.

We are proud to nominate Casey Stengel for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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