Those who can’t, teach

NOVEMBER 24, 1953   • BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – A man who struck out in his only major league at bat, and made an error in one of only two chances in the field, was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers on this date in 1953.

Walt Alston

Walter Alston went on to be one of the most successful managers in major league history.

In 23 years as manager of the Brooklyn (and later Los Angles) Dodgers, Alston won seven National League pennants. He managed the only Brooklyn Dodger team to win the World Series in 1955. He won three more World Series in Los Angeles in 1959, 1963 and 1965. He finished his career with 2,040 wins and 1,613 losses, a .558 winning percentage. He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Walter Emmons Alston was born in Venice, Ohio December 1, 1911. He was a graduate of Miami ( Ohio) University. Alston died October 1, 1984

Contributing sources:

http://www.retrosheet.org/

http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/alstowa01.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alston

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Bill Grimes is a member of SABR

(The Society for American Baseball Research)