George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and manager. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califor ...

and Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 and 1897 to 1898 and managed the Phillies, Detroit Tigers,

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

, and Boston Braves between 1897 and 1920. Stallings led the 1914 Boston Braves from last place in mid-July to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

championship and a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

sweep of the powerful Philadelphia Athletics – resulted in a nickname he would bear for the rest of his life: "The Miracle Man."

Playing career

Stallings was born on November 17, 1867, in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

. Stallings graduated from the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

in 1886. He entered medical school, but was instead offered a contract by

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) 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, t ...

, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. He was cut in spring training. Stallings was a mediocre player: he appeared in only seven major league games as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

with

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(1890) and the Phillies (1897–98) and had only two hits in 20 at-bats, hitting a weak .100.

Managerial career

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 League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with the Detroit Tigers (1901) and

(1909–10). In the minor leagues, he managed the

Nashville Seraphs The Nashville Seraphs, often known as the Nashvilles, were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League in 1895. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Athletic Park, later known ...

to win the Southern League 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

. He was also part-owner of the Tigers during their first season as a major league team. 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 games from the frontrunning New York Giants 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 Rudolph Richard Rudolph (August 25, 1887 – October 20, 1949), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants and Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves through 13 seasons spanning 1910–1927. He attend ...

and Bill James (who each won 26 games), the Braves won 52 of their final 66 contests to overtake the other seven National League teams and finish games in front of the second-place Giants. They then defeated the heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics in four straight games to earn the nickname "Miracle Braves.""Down To The Wire; Six Greatest Stretch Runs For The Pennant"
by George Vass, ''Baseball Digest'', Sep 2001, Vol. 60, No. 9, George Tweedy Stallings in 1914

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 James 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 championship was the only World Series title earned by the Braves during their tenure in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 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 Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. In 1928, his partnership with Montreal lawyer and politician Athanase David and businessman Ernest Savard resurrected the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

as part of the International League. They built the modern new

Delorimier Stadium Delorimier Stadium (; also known as ''Montreal Stadium'', ''Hector Racine Stadium'' and ''Delorimier Downs'') was a 20,000-seat sports stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was located at 2101 Ontario Street East, at the corner of De Lorimier Ave ...

in downtown Montreal. 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, Georgia at age 61 of heart disease. According to legend, when asked by his physician why he had a bad heart, Stallings replied, " Bases on balls, doc ... those damned bases on balls." He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Macon, Georgia.

Managerial record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stallings, George 1867 births 1929 deaths Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball managers Major League Baseball player-managers 19th-century baseball players Philadelphia Phillies managers Detroit Tigers managers New York Highlanders managers Boston Braves managers Vaudeville performers Baseball players from Atlanta People from Jones County, Georgia Toronto Canucks players Birmingham Ironmakers players Galveston Giants players Oakland Colonels players Toledo Black Pirates players San Jose Dukes players Augusta Electricians players Kansas City Cowboys (minor league) players Nashville Tigers players Nashville Seraphs players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Montreal Royals managers Mercer Bears baseball coaches Mercer Bears football coaches Virginia Military Institute alumni Stal

Playing career

Managerial career

Managerial record

See also

References

External links