John David Holland was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 baseball executive who served as general manager

General manager (baseball)

In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....

 of the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 of Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 from 1956 to 1975. The Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

, native was a former minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 catcher

Catcher

Catcher 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 to...

 who had toiled as an executive in the Cub farm system for the Visalia Cubs of the California League

California League

The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

, Des Moines Bruins

Des Moines Bruins

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, the Des Moines Bruins were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western League from 1947 to 1958. Their home ballpark was Sec Taylor Stadium, and they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers .-Year-by-year record:...

 of the Western League

Western League (defunct minor league)

The Western League is a name given to several circuits in American minor league baseball. Its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American League...

, and Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels (PCL)

The Los Angeles Angels were a team based in Los Angeles, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1957, after which they transferred to Spokane, Washington to become the Spokane Indians. Los Angeles would later become the host city to a Major League Baseball team, the...

 of the Pacific Coast League

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

 — then the Cubs' top farm team.

Holland was promoted from the PCL Angels to succeed Wid Matthews

Wid Matthews

Wid Curry Matthews was an American outfielder, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Matthews served as general manager of the Chicago Cubs for seven full seasons and became one of the first front-office employees in the history of the New York Mets in 1961, the year before...

 as general manager of the Cubs after the end of the 1956 season. He brought with him Bob Scheffing

Bob Scheffing

Robert Boden Scheffing was an American baseball player, coach, manager and front-office executive. Nicknamed "Grumpy," the native of Overland, Missouri is most often identified with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played as a catcher , coached , and managed .Scheffing also spent 2½ years as...

 as the Cubs' new manager. Scheffing, a former Cub catcher

Catcher

Catcher 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 to...

 and coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

, had won the PCL pennant with the Angels in 1956. But the Cubs were in the midst of a two-decade-long tenancy in the second division of the National League

National League

The 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. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

. After Scheffing and his successors, Charlie Grimm

Charlie Grimm

Charles John Grimm , nicknamed "Jolly Cholly", was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs; he was also a sometime radio broadcaster, and a popular goodwill ambassador for baseball...

 and Lou Boudreau

Lou Boudreau

Louis "Lou" Boudreau was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...

, could not rouse the club from its doldrums, owner Philip K. Wrigley

Philip K. Wrigley

Philip Knight Wrigley , sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an American chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball, inheriting both those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant father, William Wrigley Jr. After his father died in 1932, Philip...

 decided on a radical departure after the 1960 season

1960 Chicago Cubs season

The 1960 Chicago Cubs season involved the Cubs' seventh place finish in the National League with a record of 60-94, 35 games behind the NL and World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.- Offseason :* October 8, 1959: Randy Jackson was released by the Cubs....

: the Cubs became the only team in the history of major league baseball to dispense with the position of field manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for 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...

. Wrigley's College of Coaches

College of Coaches

The College of Coaches was an unorthodox strategy employed by the Chicago Cubs in 1961 and 1962. After the Cubs finished 60-94 in 1960, their 14th straight second-division finish, Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley announced in December 1960 that the Cubs would no longer have a manager, but would be led by...

 employed a series of rotating (and then more permanent) "head coaches" from 1961-65. In 1963

1963 Chicago Cubs season

- Offseason :* October 17, 1962: Don Cardwell, George Altman and Moe Thacker were traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Larry Jackson, Lindy McDaniel, and Jimmie Schaffer....

, the experiment seemed to hold promise, as head coach Bob Kennedy

Bob Kennedy

Robert Daniel Kennedy was a right fielder/third baseman, manager and executive in Major League Baseball.From 1939-1957, Kennedy played for the Chicago White Sox , Cleveland Indians , Baltimore Orioles , Detroit Tigers and Brooklyn Dodgers . He batted and threw right-handed...

 led the team to an 82-80 finish, the Cubs' first winning record since 1946

1946 Chicago Cubs season

- Offseason :* Prior to 1946 season: Hal Jeffcoat was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.- Notable transactions :* June 26, 1946: Heinz Becker was traded by the Cubs to the Cleveland Indians for Mickey Rocco and cash.- Roster :...

. But they reverted to losing seasons in 1964-65, and the College of Coaches experiment was abandoned at the end of the 1965 season, when Leo Durocher

Leo Durocher

Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...

 was hired to manage the Cubs.

The team of Durocher and Holland floundered in 1966

1966 Chicago Cubs season

The Chicago Cubs season was the 94th in franchise history. One of the defining trades in Cubs history occurred on April 21, when the Cubs acquired future Cy Young Award winner Ferguson Jenkins in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies.- Offseason :...

, when the Cubbies finished dead last in the National League. But beginning in 1967

1967 Chicago Cubs season

The Chicago Cubs season saw the 87-74 team finish in third place, fourteen games behind the National League and World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.- Offseason :* October 18, 1966: Joey Amalfitano was released by the Cubs....

, the Cubs jumped into contention in the NL with a series of first division

First division (baseball)

First division is a term that has had various meanings, at various times, in the sport of baseball, but originally referred to the rankings within a league...

 ballclubs and six straight above .500 campaigns, led by three Baseball Hall of Famers — Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins

Ferguson Jenkins

Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...

 and Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks

Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...

 — and featuring other stars like Ron Santo

Ron Santo

Ronald Edward Santo was an American professional baseball player and long-time radio sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974, most notably as the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time All-Star, he was a powerful hitter who was also a good defensive...

, Glenn Beckert

Glenn Beckert

Glenn Alfred Beckert is a former American professional baseball player. He played in Major League as a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs for nine seasons from to before ending his career with the San Diego Padres in .-Baseball career:Beckert was drafted from Allegheny College as an amateur...

, Don Kessinger

Don Kessinger

Donald Eulon Kessinger is a former American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox...

 and Randy Hundley

Randy Hundley

Cecil Randolph "Randy" Hundley Jr. is a former American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the San Francisco Giants , Chicago Cubs , Minnesota Twins , and the San Diego Padres...

. Banks was already a mainstay with the Cubs by 1956, but Holland's scouts (including the legendary Buck O'Neil

Buck O'Neil

John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball...

) had signed and developed Williams, Santo and Kessinger, and Holland acquired Jenkins, Hundley and Beckert through trades and the Rule 5 draft. The 1969

1969 in baseball

-Expansion:Four expansion teams joined Major League Baseball for this season: the San Diego Padres, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, and the first MLB team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. To accommodate the additional teams, the two leagues were split into two divisions of East and West...

 Cubs broke from the gate quickly and appeared headed for the National League East Division championship but were overtaken by the "Miracle" New York Mets

1969 New York Mets season

The New York Mets season was the eighth season for the Mets franchise, which played its home games at Shea Stadium. Managed by Gil Hodges, the team went 100-62, finishing first in the newly-established National League East by eight games over the Chicago Cubs...

. The 1969 campaign proved to be the high-water mark of the Holland era, as the Cubs gradually sank back in the NL East standings, reverting to their losing ways in 1973

1973 Chicago Cubs season

- Offseason :* October 27, 1972: Elrod Hendricks was traded by the Cubs to the Baltimore Orioles for Frank Estrada.- Regular season :Of note is that 1973 is the only season between 1945 and 1984 in which the Cubs were still in contention on the last day of the regular season, September 30...

. Holland retired two seasons later and was replaced by E. R. "Salty" Saltwell, the Cubs' longtime treasurer.

John Holland died in Chicago at the age of 69.