George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
managerIn baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager ; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
and (briefly) player in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
. His most famous achievement – leading the
Boston BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field....
from last place in mid-July to the
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
championship and a
World SeriesIn the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-games sweep.A contender for greatest upset of all time, the "Miracle Braves" were in last place on July 4th, then roared on to win the National League pennant by 10-1/2 games and sweep the stunned Athletics...
sweep of the powerful
Philadelphia AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum....
– resulted in a nickname he would bear for the rest of his life: "The Miracle Man."
A native of
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
, Stallings graduated from the
Virginia Military InstituteThe Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other state military college in the United States, all VMI students are military cadets. VMI offers cadets a...
in 1886.
George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
managerIn baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager ; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
and (briefly) player in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
. His most famous achievement – leading the
Boston BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field....
from last place in mid-July to the
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
championship and a
World SeriesIn the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-games sweep.A contender for greatest upset of all time, the "Miracle Braves" were in last place on July 4th, then roared on to win the National League pennant by 10-1/2 games and sweep the stunned Athletics...
sweep of the powerful
Philadelphia AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum....
– resulted in a nickname he would bear for the rest of his life: "The Miracle Man."
A native of
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
, Stallings graduated from the
Virginia Military InstituteThe Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other state military college in the United States, all VMI students are military cadets. VMI offers cadets a...
in 1886. He entered medical school, but was instead offered a contract by
Harry WrightWilliam Henry "Harry" Wright was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings...
, manager of the
Philadelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are the defending World Series champions. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern...
. He was cut in spring training. Stallings was a mediocre player: he appeared in only seven major league games as a
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order...
,
first basemanFirst base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest first base, and is responsible for the...
and
outfielderOutfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
with
BrooklynThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The team is in the Western Division of the National League. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn...
(1890) and the Phillies (1897-98) and had only two
hitsIn baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in 20 at-bats,
hittingBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages....
a weak .100. As a manager, he had a mixed major league resume prior to 1914: a poor record with the Phillies (1897-98), then mild successes in the
American LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league...
with the
Detroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in . The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant 10 times...
(1901) and
New York HighlandersThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
(1909-10). In the minor leagues, he managed the
Nashville SeraphsThe Nashville Seraphs were a minor league baseball team of the Southern League in 1895. They were located in and played home games at Athletic Park, which was opened in 1885. Preceded by the Nashville Tigers, the Seraphs were Nashville's fourth professional baseball team...
to win the
Southern LeagueThe Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , but it had to shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...
pennant; he also played an infield position on the team. He also managed Detroit before it became a major league team in part of 1896 and from the end of 1898 through its becoming a charter member of the
American LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league...
.
Named manager of the last-place Braves after the 1912 season, Stallings raised Boston to fifth place in the NL in his first season, 1913, but the Braves were sunk at the bottom of the eight-team league and 11½ games from the frontrunning
New York GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California who currently play in the National League West Division. One of the oldest baseball teams, the Giants hold the honor of having won the most games of any team in the history of baseball...
on July 15, 1914 when they began their meteoric rise. With Stallings expertly handling a roster of light hitters (Boston hit only .251 as a team) and relying on pitchers
Dick RudolphRichard Rudolph , was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1910-1927. He played for the New York Giants and Boston Braves. He was an alumnus of Fordham University....
and
Bill JamesWilliam Lawrence James was a baseball player, who was given a nickname to differentiate him from his contemporary, "Big" Bill James....
(who each won 26 games), the Braves won 52 of their final 66 contests to overtake the other seven NL teams and finish 10½ games in front of the second-place Giants. They then defeated the heavily favored Athletics in four straight games to earn the nickname "Miracle Braves."
Stallings is credited with being the first manager to use platooning to good effect. It was not strictly left/right hand platooning (there were then relatively few southpaw pitchers), but he did change his lineup significantly when the Braves played a team starting a left-handed pitcher.
Bill JamesGeorge William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
credits him with being the first major league manager to use platooning as a weapon, rather than to cover a hitter's weaknesses.
The
1914 championshipIn the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-games sweep.A contender for greatest upset of all time, the "Miracle Braves" were in last place on July 4th, then roared on to win the National League pennant by 10-1/2 games and sweep the stunned Athletics...
was the only World Series title earned by the Braves during their tenure in Boston, which lasted through March 1953. It also was Stallings’ first and only big league championship. He managed the Braves through 1920, but posted no winning season after 1916. His career major league managing record was 879 wins, 898 losses (.495) over 13 years.
Stallings was responsible for bringing professional baseball back to the city of Montreal, Quebec. In 1928, his partnership with Montreal lawyer and politician
Athanase DavidLouis Athanase David was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and businessman. He is son of Laurent-Olivier David, also a Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician....
and businessman
Ernest SavardJ. Ernest Savard was a Canadian stock broker and a partner in the brokerage firm of Savard & Hart in Montreal, Quebec.A sports fan, in 1928 Savard partnered with fellow Montreal businessman and politician Athanase David and American baseball executive George Stallings to revive the Montreal Royals...
resurrected the
Montreal RoyalsThe Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897-1917 and from 1928-60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...
as part of the
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball...
. They built the modern new
Delorimier StadiumDelorimier Stadium was a 20,000-seat sports stadium at 2101 Ontario Street East, near De Lorimier Avenue in the present-day Montreal borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve...
in downtown Montreal as the home for the team that would be where
Jackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
would break the
baseball color barrierThe baseball color line, sometimes called the "Gentleman's Agreement", was the policy, unwritten for nearly its entire duration, which excluded African American players and Latin players of African descent from organized baseball in the United States before 1947...
in 1946.
Stallings was famous for his superstitions, and for his nervousness on the bench. He has been described as both "distinguished" and salty-tongued. He died in
Haddock, GeorgiaHaddock is an unincorporated community in Jones County, Georgia, United States. It lies along State Route 22, to the east of the city of Gray, the county seat of Jones County. Its elevation is 499 feet , and it is located at...
at age 61 of
heart diseaseHeart disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the heart. As of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone.-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
. According to legend, when asked by his physician why he had a bad heart, Stallings replied, "
Bases on ballsA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
, doc ... those damned bases on balls."
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