Leo Durocher

Leo Durocher
Shortstop / manager
Born: July 27, 1905 West Springfield , United States
Died on: October 7th, 1991 Palm Springs , United States
Suggested: Right	Threw: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
October 2,  1925  with the  New York Yankees
Last MLB assignment
April 18,  1945  with the  Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics (until end of career)
Batting average	, 247
Home runs	24
Runs Batted In	567
Teams
As a player New York Yankees (1925, 1928-1929) Cincinnati Reds (1930-1933) St. Louis Cardinals (1933-1937) Brooklyn Dodgers (1938-1941, 1943, 1945) As a manager Brooklyn Dodgers (1939-1946, 1948) New York Giants (1948–1955) Chicago Cubs (1966–1972) Houston Astros (1972–1973) Taiheiyo Club Lions (1976)
Awards
3 × All-Star (1936, 1938, 1940) 4 × World Series winner (1928, 1934, 1954, 1963)
member of
Baseball Hall of Fame
Recorded	1994
Special selection	Veterans Committee

Leo Ernest Durocher (born July 27, 1905 in West Springfield , Massachusetts , † October 7, 1991 in Palm Springs , California ) was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball . His nickname was The Lip .

biography

After a brief stint in the 1925 season, Durocher spent his first full season in 1928 again with the New York Yankees and immediately won the World Series with them . A year later he became a regular player as a shortstop . Difficulties with Babe Ruth , among others, led Durocher to be released before the 1930 season. He then moved to the Cincinnati Reds in the National League . There he played for three years and left the team in the 1933 season for St. Louis Cardinals .

With the Cardinals he celebrated his second title win in 1934, in the team famous as Gashouse Gang he was also the captain. He then ended his playing career with the Brooklyn Dodgers . In his playing career, Durocher was considered an excellent field player in his positions of short stop and second baseman , but only a mediocre batsman.

In the 1939 season he also took over the Dodgers' office of manager, in whose position Durocher's fame should manifest. In 1941 the Dodgers won the National League, in 1940, 1942 and 1946 they finished second. However, Durocher was always offensive through his acquaintance with players, bookmakers and other dubious personalities. Because of these contacts with the gaming scene , he was banned from Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler for 1947.

Before he was banned, Durocher made a significant contribution to loosening the racial barriers in baseball. When players refused to play on a team with Jackie Robinson , Durocher said, "I don't care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm the manager of the team and I say he plays. " ( "I don't care if the guy is yellow or black or if he has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm the team manager and I say he plays." )

In 1948 he returned as a manager, but was fired in the middle of the season after difficulties with General Manager Branch Rickey . He then moved to the local rivals of the Dodgers, the New York Giants . In 1951 he won the National League title with the Giants in a play-off against the Dodgers. He was able to celebrate his only World Series title as manager with this team. The highly-favored Cleveland Indians were defeated by the Giants in 1954.

After the 1955 season Durocher worked as a TV commentator, but returned in 1966 to the managerial post of the Chicago Cubs . He had previously worked as a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1961 to 1964. He worked for the Cubs until 1972, during that season he switched to the Houston Astros , which he was to look after until 1973.

Durocher ended his career as one of the managers with the most games, wins and losses. He was the first manager to win 500 times with three different clubs. He also published an autobiography entitled Nice Guys Finish Last .

Between 1947 and 1960 he was married to actress Laraine Day and had two children with her. Leo Durocher died in Palm Springs in October 1991. In 1994 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame .

His stations as a player

• 1925, 1928-1929 New York Yankees
• 1930-1933 Cincinnati Reds
• 1933-1937 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1938-1945 Brooklyn Dodgers

His stations as a manager

• 1939-1946, 1948 Brooklyn Dodgers
• 1948-1955 New York Giants
• 1966–1972 Chicago Cubs
• 1972–1973 Houston Astros
• 1976 Taiheiyo Club Lions

literature

• Leo Durocher: Nice Guys Finish Last , Simon and Schuster, New York 1975

Web links

Commons : Leo Durocher  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference  or  Fangraphs  or  Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)
• Data as a manager (English)
• Biography of Leo Durocher (English)
• Leo Durocher in the Hall of Fame (English)