Tony Lupien
Encyclopedia
Ulysses John "Tony" Lupien (April 23, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American
first baseman
in Major League Baseball
. He was a left-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox
, Philadelphia Phillies
and Chicago White Sox
. Lupien was an all-around athlete and successful coach
.
, the son of Eugenie (née Gosselin) and Ulysses J. Lupien. His parents were of French Canadian descent, and he was named "Ulysses" because of his great-grandfather's admiration for president Ulysses S. Grant
. He graduated from Harvard University
in 1939. At Harvard, he was captain of the baseball team as a junior and of the basketball
team as a senior. He was the Eastern Intercollegiate League
batting champion in 1938 and 1939, and he also was a quarterback
for his freshman football
team.
Scranton Red Sox
Eastern League championship team. He made his major league debut for the Red Sox on September 12, 1940. One of his most productive seasons came in 1942 when he batted
.281 with three home run
s and 70 runs batted in
for the Red Sox. He was traded to the Phillies where he played in 1944 and early in 1945, before serving in the U.S. Navy
during World War II
. In the 1944 season he hit .283 with five homers, 52 RBI, 82 runs, 23 doubles
, 9 triples
and 18 stolen base
s. In 1948, he played for the White Sox.
Lupien finished his MLB career hitting .268 with 18 home runs, 230 RBI, 285 runs, 92 doubles, 30 triples, and 57 stolen bases in 614 games. In 1949, he played with Triple-A Toledo (American Association
). He concluded his professional career from 1951–53 and in 1955 when he was a player as well as field and general manager
with the Jamestown Falcons
and Corning Independents
, in the PONY League. From 1951 to 1956, he was head basketball coach at Middlebury College
, compiling a record of 60–49 in five seasons.
In 1956, Lupien was hired as Dartmouth College
's baseball coach. He spent 21 seasons at the school and guided his teams to 313 wins, 305 losses and three ties, winning the Eastern Intercollegiate League championship four times (1963, 1967, 1969–70). His 1970 team advanced to the College World Series
at Omaha, Nebraska
where it finished fifth. That team had a 24–10 record that included a 21-game win streak. He was also the Dartmouth freshman basketball coach from 1956 to 1968.
. He died in Norwich, Vermont
, at 87 years of age. He was married to Natalie Nichols, and later to Mildred Robinson. His grandson is wrestler and actor John Cena
.
Lupien was recognized for decades as a great teacher and mentor. He was also an outspoken observer of labor relations in professional baseball. In 1980 he collaborated with writer Lee Lowenfish to author The Imperfect Diamond, a book that remains a definitive text on baseball labor from the introduction of the reserve clause in 1879 to the litigation in the 1970s that led to free agency.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
first baseman
First baseman
First 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...
in 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...
. He was a left-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. 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 Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. Lupien was an all-around athlete and successful 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...
.
Early life
Lupien was born in Chelmsford, MassachusettsChelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 33,802. The Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the town was 34,409, ranking it 14th in population among the 54 municipalities in...
, the son of Eugenie (née Gosselin) and Ulysses J. Lupien. His parents were of French Canadian descent, and he was named "Ulysses" because of his great-grandfather's admiration for president Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. He graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1939. At Harvard, he was captain of the baseball team as a junior and of the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team as a senior. He was the Eastern Intercollegiate League
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
batting champion in 1938 and 1939, and he also was a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for his freshman football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team.
Career
Upon graduation from Harvard, Lupien signed a professional baseball contract with the Red Sox and played the 1939 season for the Double-AMinor 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...
Scranton Red Sox
Scranton Red Sox
The Scranton Red Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They played from 1939 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1951, and they played in the Eastern League.-Year-by-year record:...
Eastern League championship team. He made his major league debut for the Red Sox on September 12, 1940. One of his most productive seasons came in 1942 when he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.281 with three home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 70 runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
for the Red Sox. He was traded to the Phillies where he played in 1944 and early in 1945, before serving in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the 1944 season he hit .283 with five homers, 52 RBI, 82 runs, 23 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 9 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and 18 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s. In 1948, he played for the White Sox.
Lupien finished his MLB career hitting .268 with 18 home runs, 230 RBI, 285 runs, 92 doubles, 30 triples, and 57 stolen bases in 614 games. In 1949, he played with Triple-A Toledo (American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
). He concluded his professional career from 1951–53 and in 1955 when he was a player as well as field and 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....
with the Jamestown Falcons
Jamestown Falcons
The Jamestown Falcons were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off from 1940 to 1972. They played in the PONY League from 1940 to 1956, and in the New York-Penn League in 1957 and from 1968 to 1972. Based in Jamestown, New York, they were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers from 1941 to...
and Corning Independents
Corning Independents
The Corning Independents were a minor league baseball team located in Corning, New York. The team played in the New York - Penn League. Their home stadium was Corning Memorial Stadium....
, in the PONY League. From 1951 to 1956, he was head basketball coach at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, compiling a record of 60–49 in five seasons.
In 1956, Lupien was hired as Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
's baseball coach. He spent 21 seasons at the school and guided his teams to 313 wins, 305 losses and three ties, winning the Eastern Intercollegiate League championship four times (1963, 1967, 1969–70). His 1970 team advanced to the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
at Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
where it finished fifth. That team had a 24–10 record that included a 21-game win streak. He was also the Dartmouth freshman basketball coach from 1956 to 1968.
Personal life and legacy
Lupien retired from coaching in 1977, but continued to work for many years as a stockbroker with various firms in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. He died in Norwich, Vermont
Norwich, Vermont
Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States, located along the Connecticut River opposite Hanover, New Hampshire. The population was 3,544 at the 2000 census....
, at 87 years of age. He was married to Natalie Nichols, and later to Mildred Robinson. His grandson is wrestler and actor John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
.
Lupien was recognized for decades as a great teacher and mentor. He was also an outspoken observer of labor relations in professional baseball. In 1980 he collaborated with writer Lee Lowenfish to author The Imperfect Diamond, a book that remains a definitive text on baseball labor from the introduction of the reserve clause in 1879 to the litigation in the 1970s that led to free agency.
External links
- Tony Lupien at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...