Douglas Leonard Holmquist (October 4, 1941 – February 27, 1988) was an American

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 ...

player 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 ...

, as well as

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 ...

coach for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He played professionally as a

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 ...

from to , and later managed and/or coached at the professional level from to . He led his teams to win league championships in and . At the collegiate level, Holmquist coached at

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholi ...

(1968), the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

(1969 to 1971), and started the baseball program at the

Florida Technological University The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university with its main campus in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. With 68,442 students as of the fall 20 ...

, coaching there from 1973 to 1975. In 1970, he coached

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

, leading the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...

. His entire seven-year managerial career was spent in the Yankees farm system. He served for four years at their Class A

Fort Lauderdale Yankees The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, then a year at the Class A

Greensboro Hornets Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, and then a year at their Double-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

of the Southern League. After sitting out 1984 as skipper, Holmquist returned for a final year in 1985, managing the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. That year, he managed 22 games before being replaced by

Stump Merrill Carl Harrison "Stump" Merrill (born February 15, 1944) is an American former manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Merrill spent 38 years in the New York Yankees organization, including and as the manager of the Yankees, and he also managed s ...

. In 1984 and 1985, he was the

first base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the major league Yankees, wearing #42. Holmquist died of a heart attack at age 46 in 1988.

References

External links

1941 births 1988 deaths Major League Baseball first base coaches New York Yankees coaches Durham Bulls players Fort Lauderdale Yankees managers Nashville Sounds managers Sacred Heart Pioneers baseball coaches UCF Knights baseball coaches Vermont Catamounts baseball coaches Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Baseball players from Bridgeport, Connecticut Jamestown Tigers players Modesto Colts players Montgomery Rebels players Moultrie Colt .22s players Rocky Mount Leafs players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-manager-stub