Robert Hunter Coleman (September 26, 1890 – July 16, 1959) was an American

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 catc ...

, coach and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. Notably, he served two terms as pilot of the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

—as acting skipper from April 24 to June 17, 1943, and as the Braves' official field leader from the start of 1944 through July 29, 1945. Coleman also was one of the most successful managers in the history of

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, where, between 1919 and 1957 (with interruptions caused by major league service) he won ten regular season pennants and five league playoff titles. He won his first pennant with the 1922 Terre Haute Tots of the Three-I League, and he also won a championship with the 1935 Springfield Senators, also of the Three-I League. The rest of his titles came with the

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, franchise in that circuit.

Early life and career

A native of

Huntingburg, Indiana Huntingburg is a city in Patoka Township, Dubois County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,362 at the 2020 census. Located in southwestern Indiana, the city is known for its downtown with numerous antique shops. It is part ...

, Coleman played just three seasons in the majors, with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(1913–14) and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1916). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' took notice of the fact that Coleman "accepted 13 chances on the 13th day of June in the year 1913" during a 3–2 loss to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. The right-handed-hitting catcher batted .241 with 55

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in 116 total games. In 1919, at age 28, he embarked on his managerial career with the Mobile Bears of the Class A

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

. By

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

he was a coach for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, but the following season he returned to the minor leagues, and in 1928 he became manager of the Evansville Hubs of the Class B Three-I League, where he would spend much of the rest of his baseball career. He managed Evansville for 20 seasons over four separate tours of duty (1928–31; 1938–42; 1946–49; 1951–57), and won eight pennants there (1930, 1938, 1941, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1956 and 1957) including his final season. Coleman made it back to the majors as a coach with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

. On April 20, 1943, four days before the National League season was about to begin, his boss, manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

, suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a taxicab as he tried to cross a Boston street. Coleman stepped in for 46 games, through June 17, while Stengel recovered (the Braves winning 21). At season's end, Stengel was fired and Coleman was named permanent manager of the Braves for

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. But the wartime Braves were not contenders and after a sixth-place 1944 finish was followed by a sluggish start to

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, Coleman was replaced by one of his coaches, Del Bissonette, on July 29. His final record as a Major League manager was 128–165–2 (.437). He then returned to Evansville as manager of the

Evansville Braves The Evansville Braves was the primary nickname of a minor league baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana 1938–1942 and 1946–1957, playing in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Bob Uecker and Warren Spahn pla ...

, a Boston

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

, and resumed his minor league career. In 35 seasons as a minor league skipper, Coleman's teams won 2,496 games and lost 2,103 (.543). In 1958, the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

named Coleman to their

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

staff. One year later, on July 16, 1959, he died in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at age 68.

MLB managerial record

References

*Lloyd Johnson, ed., ''The Minor League Register.'' Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1994.

External links

*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Bob 1890 births 1959 deaths Baseball coaches from Indiana Boston Braves coaches Boston Braves managers Boston Red Sox coaches Cleveland Indians players Columbus Senators players Davenport Blue Sox players Davenport Prodigals players Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Detroit Tigers coaches Knoxville Smokies players Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Braves scouts Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) managers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Mobile Bears players People from Huntingburg, Indiana Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Paul Saints (AA) managers San Antonio Bears players San Antonio Missions managers Baseball players from Evansville, Indiana Springfield Senators players Terre Haute Tots players 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life and career

MLB managerial record

References

Further reading

External links