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Major Leaguers Who Managed In The AFL
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Manager AFL
Team(s) Major League Team(s) N eil Berry1958 Montgomery 1948-52 Detroit,1953 St. Louis(AL), 1953 Chicago (AL), 1954 Baltimore Frank Carswell 1959 Montgomery 1953 Detroit Brandy Davis 1958 Columbus 1952-53 Pittsburgh Tom Giordano 1958 Selma 1953 Philadelphia (AL) John Grodzicki 1950 Geneva 1941,1946-47 St. Louis (NL) Lewis « Buddy » Gremp Paul Kardow Fred Paul O’Dea Lynwood « Schoolboy » |
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The low minors were often the places where a former Major Leaguers could try to extend
their baseball lives by trying their hands at managing. Some fairly big names,, like Schoolboy Rowe, Harry Rice, Johnny Groth, and Joe Tipton, got their chance to see what they could do in the AFL. Often, success on the field didn’t translate into success at the helm, but a few former major leaguers, like Ernie « Doc » Wingard, had what it takes to transform a bunch of green kids into ballplayers…. |
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« Fred ‘Pap’ Williams was the manager that year and we had this young boy (Ron Lacey), a catcher, he just started goin’ good. We were on our way to Dothan
one night and Fred said, « Neal, I’m gonna let Lacey hit cleanup tonight and you hit third ». I told him, « That’s alright, but I’ll tell you what, Ol’ Lacey’s sitting up there in the front of the bus now, but after Onion (Spencer Davis, Dothan’s star pitcher) gets through with him, he’ll be riding in the back ». Onion got up there that night and struck Lacey out four straight times ». – Neal Cobb |