Leo Durocher: 1954 World Champion New York Giants Manager (1948-1955)

Leo Ernest Durocher was born on July 27, 1905, in West Springfield, Massachusetts. His father George worked for the Boston & Albany Railroad Co.  He & his wife Clarinda had Leo & three older sons. The family was French Canadian& often spoke French in the household.

As a boy he began to play pool & started hustling for money. He was also a good athlete & became a local star baseball player.

The fiery kid caught the eye of a scout & the second baseman / shortstop made his was signed by the AL New York team.

In 1925 he made his MLB debut with New York team as a teammate of Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig.

Leo, didn't get along with the top players as he talked & antagonized them nonstop. He lived extravagantly, dressing in expensive clothes & going to fine establishments. Leo loved the nightlife & was known to stayed out late even passed team curfews. Manager Miller Huggins loved the passion & competitiveness in Durocher & protected him. 

Quotes- Leo Durocher: Huggins kept telling me I'd stick around for a long time if I kept my
cockiness & scrappiness & that fierce desire to do anything to win". 

Leo was never a great hitter, getting named by Babe Ruth “The all-American out”.  Leo made appeared in four games of the 1928 World Series going 0-2.

Rabbit Maranville

When Huggins died in 1929, he was placed on waivers, after three years in New York (1925/ 1928-1929) Durocher was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds. He played with the Reds for four seasons (1930-1933). In May 1933 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rabbit Maranville: Another influence on his career was his idol, Boston's "Rabbit" Maranville. He lived in the same neighborhood as Durocher & had once given him a glove. Rabbit, also a short player in height, told Durocher as a short man never back up. Although he meant it in baseball terms, Durocher took it for everything, especially in fighting situations.

Gas House Gang: Leo arrived in time to play on the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals World Champion team. There he joined greats like player/manager Frankie Frisch "The Fordham Flash", Ducky Joe Medwick, Ripper Collins, Pepper Martin & Dizzy Dean. Five players on the team batted over .300 & Dean won 30 games.

The team became known as the Gas House Gang. They were a rough-n-tough team that often fought with other teams. They were known for playing in dirty uniforms & crushing their opponents. 

Some accounts say it was Durocher who gave them the nick-name name. He once said of the American League "they wouldn't even let us in that league over there, think we're a bunch of gas housers". The term referred to the factories that turned coal into gas for cooking & lighting.

In 1934 Durocher batted .260 with 26 doubles 70 RBIs & 62 runs scored in 146 games as the team's main short stop. The Cardinals won 95 games & beat out the reigning World Champion New York Giants by two games.

1934 World Series: In the 1934 World Series win over the Detroit Tigers Durocher hit .259 (7-27) scoring four runs. 

After going hitless in the first three games, he collected a hit in the next two games.

In Game #6 at Detroit, Durocher doubled off School Boy Rowe in the 7th inning with one out of a 3-3 game. He then scored what turned out to be the game winning run, on Paul Dean’s base hit putting the Cards in front 4-3 forcing a Game #7. 

The Cardinals won Game #7, blowing out the Tigers 11-0 with 17 hits, as Dizzy Dean tossed a six-
hit shutout.

Eventually Durocher & player/manager Frankie Frisch were not getting along. Leo was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Dodgers Career: Leo would play with the Dodgers from 1938-1943, then again in 1945. In 1938 he was named the teams Player / Manager, staying in that role thru 1945 when he became a full-time manager.

In 1939 he batted .277 but his style of play & importance to the team had him finish 8th in the MVP voting. In 1940 he made the All-Star team for the third time, as Brooklyn finished second to the Reds. That year he was so impressed with Pee Wee Reese he gave up his short stop position to him, as Pee Wee went on to his Hall of Fame career.

 In 1941 he played in just eight games but led Brooklyn to its first pennant in 24 years. The next year the Dodgers won 104 games but finished second to the Cardinals by two games. 

In 1945 he put himself into just two games at the start of the season, then became a full-time manager.

Career Stats: In his 17-year playing career, he batted .247 with 1320 hits 210 doubles 56 triples 24 HRs 575 runs scored & 567 RBIs. He posted a .299 on base % & .6619 OPS. He played 1509 games at short stop with a .961 fielding% making 307 errors in 7835 chances turning 895 double plays. He also played 98 games at second & one game at third base.
 
Leo the Lip: Durocher was a fiery, controversial, argumentive guy. He never shut up either encouraging his team or bench jockeying the other teams' players. His taunting was never intended to be nice, as he came up with very inappropriate insults. 

His language was also obscene, as it seemed every other word was a curse. All he wanted to do was win & went to any length to accomplish that. Durocher demanded the same efforts from his players. 

Head Hunting: He was famous for yelling “stick it in his ear” & had his pitchers regularly throw at hitters. This even had hitters charging after him rather than the pitchers.

Nice Guys Finish Last: In 1946 during an interview with broadcaster Red Barber, he stated the phrase he would forever ne known for & one of the most popular references in the English language: “nice guys finish last”. Although history may have misquoted him. 

It was directed to New York Giants manager Mel Ott, whose Giants were “nice guys over there in the other dugout” but in last place, while Durocher’s Dodgers were riding high in first place. The actual quote may have been 'Look at Mel Ott, he's a nice guy & finishes second".

Durocher then pointed out "the Brat" Eddie Stanky "can't hit, can't run, can't field. He's no nice guy & all the little son of a bitch can do is win."

The Dodgers had three more winning season in the next four years, finishing third twice. In 1946 they won 96 games ending the season in a tie with the Cardinals for first place forcing the N.L.’s first ever playoff series. Durocher’s team lost the two games & finished second once again.

1947 Jackie Robinson & Suspension: In 1947 Dodgers GM Branch Rickey was preparing to bring up Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers, breaking the color barrier. During Spring Training in Cuba, some of the Dodger players started a petition against the promotion of Robinson. When he got wind of what was happening, Durocher held a late-night team meeting, saying he would not tolerate any dissent of players who were opposed to the promotion of Robinson. 

Quotes- Leo Durocher: "I don't care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a damn zebra. I'm the manager of this team and I say he plays."

But just as the season was to begin, MLB Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler suspended Durocher for one year, due to his ties with gambling & association with known gamblers. Chandler also was led to believe Durocher & a friend may have rigged a crap game swindling a Detroit player for a lot of money.

More troubles came when, it was discovered Durocher had married actress Laraine Day while she was technically still married to Ray Hendricks. The two had an ongoing affair while she was still married, then Day had gotten a divorce in Mexico, marrying Durocher the next day in Texas. In California it would take a year for the divorce to be recognized as final & she had to appear before a judge as not to be convicted of bigamy. 

The controversies surrounding Durocher didn't sit well with the Dodgers or with the Catholic Youth Organization in Brooklyn. The CYO stopped donating money & supporting the Brooklyn adolescent fan base, Knothole Gang. The Diocese & even the Supreme Court all got involved. The boycott kept things quiet for a while.

The Dodgers went on to win the 1947 pennant as Durocher was serving his suspension. As promised by Rickey, he returned in 1948 but the Dodgers struggled. At first Leo seemed to have mellowed but eventually his outspoken personality was back, causing trouble once again. 

Branch Rickey met with Giants owner Horace Stoneman who was inquiring about Burt Shotton who had filled in as manager during Durocher's suspension. When Durocher's name came up a strange deal was worked out sending Leo to the rival Giants mid-season.

In his Dodgers career Leo was 738-565 (.566%) winning one pennant. There he managed the most games for a team in his career at 1318.

New York Giants Career: Leo was set free from the Dodgers & found himself with the hated, cross town rival New York Giants. This move fueled the incredible Giants / Dodger rivalry even further. Dodger fans immediately started hating Durocher. 

The Giants fans were also shocked, they had to take a deep breath and accept Durocher, as their manager. Ironically Durocher was replacing Mel Ott the man he was referring to when he said, "nice guys finish last".

It took time for Leo to change the makeup of the veteran Giants ball club. He started to build the team he wanted recruiting guys like Eddie Stanky, Alvin Dark, Hank Thompson, Monte Irvin & a bringing up a young superstar kid named Willie Mays. 

In 1948 & 1949 the Giants finished fifth. In 1950 they jumped up to a third-place finish.

Willie Mays' Mentor: At the start of Willie Mays career, he struggled. One day he was crying at his locker telling Durocher “Mr. Leo” that he couldn’t make it in the big leagues & was sorry for letting him down. Leo told the young Mays that he fully supported him, had faith in him telling Willie he was his centerfielder & he was sticking with him.

Mays turned it around & the rest is history, as Mays became one the greatest players of all time. 

In the 1951 season, Leo led the Giants to one of baseball’s greatest comebacks ever. 

Dodger Rivalry: In early summer, after losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds, the Dodgers were taunting the Giants thru the thin walls of the clubhouses. 

On August 9th, although the Giants were ten games over .500, they were swept by the Dodgers at Ebbett's Field & fell to 12.5 games behind Brooklyn. Thru the thin clubhouse walls, the Dodgers players were taunting the Giants, with Jackie Robinson's voice heard above all.

 Leo pointed out to his team to listen to them shouting “the Giants is dead” as they banged on the clubhouse walls. He was using it as a motivation.

Leo's battles with his former Dodgers team were legendary.

The obscenities, insults & bench jockeying were ruthless. They were returned back to him as well.

His battles with Jackie Robinson who he once supported as a teammate were now filled with hatred as opponents. Leo would taunt Robinson mercifully, although he never made any racial remarks. Jackie would give him the same back, even sending insults toward Durocher’s wife Loraine Day.

Leo once ordered pitcher Ruben Gomez to throw at Carl Furillo to knock him down. When he did instead of charging the mound, Furillo went after Durocher in the dugout. 

Eye in the Sky: Leo did anything he could to inspire his team. At the home ballpark, the Polo Grounds he hired an electrician to install a buzzer from the clubhouse to the bullpen. Then he perched his old friend, coach Herman Franks in the centerfield clubhouse with a telescope to steal the signs from the opposing catcher while the Giants were up to bat.

Franks would use the buzzer after he saw the sign to signal the bullpen, there backup catcher Sal Yvars would either toss a ball in the air or just hold on to it, to tip off the hitter.

This method has been disputed by many as if it actually worked or not. Statistics show the Giants actually hit better on the road than at home during this time & got better pitching at home. Many of the Giants players said they never actually used the system. Even if they had, knowing what pitch was coming, they still had to react within a split second.

In any event, after getting swept in Brooklyn on August 9th, they turned their season around. From August 12th to August 27th, Leo’s Giants went on a 16-game winning streak, 13 of the wins at home & three walk off victories. 

The Giants went 38-9 from that point on thru the rest of the regular season. In September they were 19-5, winning 11 of their last 12 games. Since the early August sweep, they beat the Dodgers in six of seven games. On the last day of the regular season, as Larry Jansen led the Giants to a win in Boston over the Braves, Jackie Robinson hit a HR in the top of the 14th inning leading the Dodgers to a win in Philadelphia. The two teams ended in a tie & a three game playoff would be decided for the NL Pennant.

1951 NL Playoff: The two teams split the first two games and it all came down to one game. It became known as one of the most famous games ever played in MLB, as history was made that afternoon at the Polo Grounds. 

New York stood still, as those who did not attend were clinging to their radios & those lucky enough to have televisions were able to watch in one of the first nationally televised games.

In the 1st inning Sal Maglie walked two Dodgers & Jackie Robinson singled home the first run. In the 7th, Bobby Thompson tied the game up with a sac fly.

In the 8th Maglie threw a wild pitch scoring Pee Wee Reese, then RBI singles from Andy Pafko & Bill Cox made it a 4-1 game.

In the bottom of the 9th with the Giants down 4-1, Alvis Dark & Don Mueller singled off a tiring Don Newcome. With one out, Whitey Lockman doubled scoring Dark, Mueller was injured sliding into third base & had to leave the game. The Dodgers brought in Ralph Branca to pitch & Bobby Thompson stepping to bat. Thomson lined a shot over the right field wall, hitting the most famous walk off HR in baseball history, forever known as "the shot heard round the world". Giants' broadcaster Russ Hodges made his legendary call of "the Giants win the pennant; the Giants win the pennant!" 

Durocher who was coaching third base was ecstatic, he pulled off one of the the greatest comebacks in history. Although the Giants last the World Series, it was almost meaningless as the Pennant is what's remembered.

After the Pennant: In 1952, the Giants would win 90 games but finish second to the rival Dodgers. 1953 was total disaster as they fell to fifth place.

1954 World Champions: Going into the 1954 season the Giants were not favored to win but surprised everyone.

 That season the Giants traded off the popular 1951 hero Bobby Thomson, in exchange for pitcher Johnny Antonelli. Antonelli would win 21 games, lead the league in winning percentage & ERA. Also that season NL-MVP Willie Mays won the batting title (.345) hit 41 HRs & led the league with 13 triples.

Durocher's Giants went on to win 97 games five games ahead of Brooklyn. Leo won his second pennant in four years & went to the World Series as underdogs to a mighty Cleveland Indians team who won 111 games. 

The Series started with Leo pushing all the right buttons & his big players coming thru.

 In Game #1 with the game tied at 2-2 in the 7th inning, Willie Mays saved two runs, making the most famous catch in baseball history, when he ran down Vic Wertz's fly ball to deep centerfield an approximate 450 feet away. Mays spined around threw & held Larry Doby to third base after tagging up. Dusty Rhodes hit a pinch-hit walk off HR. In the second game, Johnny Antonelli pitched a one run complete game, with Rhodes once again hitting a pinch-hit HR to break a 7th inning tie, leading to the win.

In Game #3 at Cleveland, the Giants rolled to a 6-2 win & a sweep in Game #4 with a 7-4 win. Durocher had won his first & only World Championship.

Celebrity Life: If Leo wasn't famous enough, the Championship really brought him into the spotlight. Off the field he loved the celebrity life, he was known to be good friends with George Raft, who he even shared a home with, in Hollywood. 

Other friends included Frank Sinatra, Spencer Tracy & Dean Martin. Dean even gave him one of his celebrity roasts TV shows. He was known to hang around some of his famous mobster pals as well including Bugsy Siegal.

Leo & his wife Laraine were media celebrities, seen on television shows together, on Broadway & all-around Hollywood in the off seasons. Leo could be spotted at the biggest night clubs & best restaurants around town.

After the Championship: 1955 season, the Giants finished third & Durocher was let as the
team's manager. In his eight years with the Giants, he was 637 - 523 (.549%) in 1163 games, winning two pennants & a World Series.

Broadcaster: He went to work for NBC as a baseball color commentator. He also hosted the NBC Comedy Hour & Jackpot Bowling. 

Return to the Dodgers: In 1962 he was back as a coach with the Dodgers under Walt Alston, now in Los Angeles.

There he was part of the 1963 World Champion Dodger team that featured star pitchers, Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale. 

Younger Woman Drama: In 1964 he was in love with an aspiring actress, Carolyn Morin who was thirty years younger than him. Leo was 57 at the time while at age 26. 

A lawsuit was brought on by her parents seeking $150,000 for alienating the affections of her mother. 

Hollywood in the Sixties: Hollywood was perfect for Leo, during the sixties he appeared on episodes of many classic TV show. 

Leo played golf with Jed & Jethro Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. On "Mr. Ed" he wanted to sign the talking horse to a Dodger contract. 

On The Munster’s, Leo wanted to sign slugger Herman Munster after seeing him blast monstrous HRs across town. Leo also appeared on the Donna Reed Show, the game show "What's My Line" the Tonight Show & the Red Skelton Show.

Cubs Managerial Career: In 1966 Leo was hired as manager of the Chicago Cubs. He would remain there for seven seasons (1966-1972). Leo's Cubs lost 103 games in 1966 being he first team to finish behind the Mets since their being in the National League in 1962.

From there his Cubs would having winning records for the next five years with three second place finishes.

By 1969 the Cubs had a powerhouse team & led the newly aligned NL East by 8.5 games in mid-August. Chicago was looking forward to their first post season since 1945.

But 1969 was the year of the Amazing Mets. In July the Cubs lost two big series to the Mets. On August 16th, the Cubs held a nine-game lead in first place. But then they lost 12 of their next 22 games & were swept by the Mets in a two-game series at Shea Stadium. The Mets took over first place for good, the Cubs went 8-12 the rest of the way finishing second eight games back.

As Durocher’s Cubs fell apart, he was asked “Are these the real Cubs?" Durocher answered, "I don't know but these are the real Mets."

Durocher was criticized for using his top players without any rest & over working his pitchers. He had a hard time dealing with the new breed of high paid young, minded ball players of the late sixties & early seventies. When he berated his players, things only got worse. He was known to have a locker room run in with all-star Ron Santo almost coming to blows.

It was also said he didn't get along as well with the Cubs black players as he had done with blacks on his past teams. Pitcher Ken Holtzman took offense to his anti-Semitic remarks.

When the players spoke out against him, it hurt his feelings. His old friend Alvin Dark thought because of that he may have changed his method of managing & he wasn't as successful.

Leo also hated the new players union & spoke out against it, angering his players as well.

Leo was fired midway through the 1972 season. In Chicago he was 535-526 (.504%) in 1065 games. 

Leo was quickly hired by the Houston Astros, the third Houston manager of the season, as the team finished third (84-69) They were 16-15 under Durocher.

In 1973 as the Mets won another Pennant, Leo's Astros finished fourth at 82-80. In Houston he didn't get along well with his players, most famously pitcher Larry Dierker. After the season he resigned. In 193 games with Houston, he posted a 98-95 record (.566%)

Quotes- Leo Durocher: "Baseball has been 45 years of a wonderful life. But I have got a lot of things to do now.  I'm going to Palm Springs & I'm going to tee up & play a lot of golf".

Managerial Career Stats: Durocher finished his managerial career with a 2008-1709 (.540 %) posting winning records with all four teams he led. He was the first manager to win 500 games with three different clubs.

Trivia: Durocher was the fourth most ejected manager in baseball history.

In his lifetime he was bitter about not being elected to the Hall of Fame. In his later years he found his Catholic Faith again & became an usher in his local Church.

Books: In 1948 he published "The Dodgers & Me". In 1975 he cowrote wrote a bestselling
autobiography called “Nice Guys Finish Last”. 

Family: In 1930 he married his first wife Ruby (Hartley) & had a child. They divorced in 1934. 

Later that year he married his second wife, Grace (Dozier) a fashion designer & wealthy businesswoman. They divorced in 1943.

In 1947 he began his affair with married actress Laraine Dey. The two eventually got married & became a highly publicized celebrity couple. They divorced in 1960.

Leo married a fourth time to Lynn (Walker Goldbatt) & divorced in 1981.

Hall of Fame: Three years after his death, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Laraine Day accepted his induction.

Passing: In 1991 Durocher passed away at age 86. He is buried at the famous Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood.