FAMOUS COACHES and MANAGERS of Major League Baseball

CONNIE MACK -- Philadelphia Athletics

 

NAME:                              Cornelius McGillicuddy  (Connie for Cornelius; and Mack for MacGillicuddy)

BORN:                              December 22, 1862 in East Brookfield, Massachusetts (son of a wheelwright)

DIED:                               February 8, 1956 (aged 93) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

MLB as a PLAYER:

POSITION:                        Catcher         Threw:    Right                  Batted:   Right

MLB PLAYER STATISTICS:    Batting Average:  .245    Hits:  659 Runs Batted In: 265

MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT:       September 11, 1886 with Washington Nationals

LAST APPEARANCE:            August 29, 1896 with Pittsburgh Pirates

As a player, Mack was “a light-hitting catcher with a reputation as a smart player, but didn’t do anything particularly well.”  He was one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind home plate instead of in front of the backstop.  He also verbally needled batters to distract them, developed skills such as blocking the plate to prevent base runners from scoring and faking the sound of a foul tip.  He was also known for “tipping” the bat with the catcher’s glove to throw off the swing of the batter.

RECORDS:

Connie Mack was the longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history.  Mack holds the records for wins (3,731), losses (3,948), and games managed (7,755).  He has 1,000 more victories than any other manager.  Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the club’s first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, before retiring at the age of 87 following the 1950 season.  He was at least part owner from 1901 to 1954.  He was the first manager to win the World Series three times, and is the only manager to win consecutive World Series on two separate occasions (1910-11 and 1929-30).  His five World Series titles remain the third most by any manager, and his nine American League pennants rank second in league history.  was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

OWNER:

However, constant financial struggles forced repeated rebuilding of the roster, and Mack’s teams also finished in last place 17 times.  Unlike most baseball owners, Mack had almost no income apart from the A’s.  Even when he collected rent from the Phillies, he was often in financial difficulties.  His great strength as an owner was his huge network of baseball friends, all of whom acted as scouts and “bird-dogs” for him, finding talented players and alerting Mack.  “Mack was better at that game than anybody else in the world.  People like Mack, respected him, and trusted him.  Mack answered every letter and listened patiently to every sales job, and . . . he got players for that reason.”  Nearly all the money he made went back to the team.  Mack supported a large extended family and was generous to players in need.

MANAGING: 

MLB Manager Statistics:  Games Managed:  7,679 Win-Loss Record:  3,731-3,948   Win %: 48.6%

Mack was quiet, even-tempered, and gentlemanly, never using profanity.  His friend Red Smith called him “tough and warm and wonderful, kind and stubborn and courtly and unreasonable and generous and calculating and naïve and gentle and proud and humorous and demanding and unpredictable.”  Nearly all the money he made went back into the team.  Mack valued intelligence and “baseball smarts,” always looking for educated players.  He wanted men who were self-directed, self-disciplined and self-motivated; his ideal player was Eddie Collins.  Mack’s strength as a manager was finding the best players, teaching them well and letting them play.”  His managerial style was not tyrannical, but easygoing.

CODE OF CONDUCT:

Mack looked for seven things in his players:  1) physical ability, 2) intelligence, 3) courage, 4) disposition, 5) will power,

6) general alertness, and 7) personal habits.

 

As a result of striving to have his players become better people, as well as baseball players, he created his CODE OF CONDUCT: 

CONNIE MACK’S

CODE of CONDUCT

1.  I will always play the game to the best of my ability.

2. I will always play to win, but if I lose, I will not look for an excuse to detract from my opponent’s victory.

3. I will never take an unfair advantage in order to win.

4. I will always abide by “the rules of the game” – on the diamond (or field) as well as in my daily life.

5. I will always conduct myself as a true sportsman – on and off the playing field.

6. I will always strive for the good of the entire team rather than for my own glory.

7. I will never gloat in victory or pity myself in defeat.

8. I will do my utmost to keep myself clean – physically, mentally, and morally.

9. I will always judge a teammate or an opponent as an individual and never on the basis of race or religion.