| Clyde King | |
|---|---|
 King with theHollywood Starsc. 1957 | |
| Pitcher /Coach /Manager /General Manager | |
| Born:(1924-05-23)May 23, 1924 Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: November 2, 2010(2010-11-02) (aged 86) Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 21, 1944, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1953, for the Cincinnati Redlegs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 32–25 |
| Earned run average | 4.14 |
| Strikeouts | 150 |
| Managerial record | 234–229 |
| Winning % | .505 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach As general manager | |
Clyde Edward King (May 23, 1924 – November 2, 2010) was an Americanpitcher,coach,manager,general manager and front office executive inMajor League Baseball.
King's career in baseball spanned 67 years, including 35 full years with theNew York Yankees, whether in uniform as a manager or coach or in the front office in multiple roles, including general manager (1985–86) and special advisor to longtime ownerGeorge Steinbrenner.[1] He managed theSan Francisco Giants (1969–70) andAtlanta Braves (1974–75), as well as the Yankees (part of 1982), finishing with a career record of 234 wins and 229 defeats (.505).
Born inGoldsboro, North Carolina, King attended theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 175 lb (79 kg) right-handed pitcher, he made his debut with theBrooklyn Dodgers at age 20 in 1944, his first professional season, during the manpower shortage caused by World War II. Although King would be sent to theminor leagues for seasoning after the war, he would ultimately appear in 165 games over all or parts of six seasons for the Dodgers (1944–45, 1947–48, 1951–52), winning 14 games for the1951 edition.[2] He was a member of the pennant-winning1947 and1952 Brooklyn clubs, but failed to appear in eitherWorld Series.
When he finished his Major League career with theCincinnati Redlegs in 1953, King had appeared in an even 200 games, winning 32 and losing 25 with anearned run average of 4.14. He allowed 524hits and 189bases on balls in 496innings pitched. He registered 150strikeouts and fourcomplete games (in 21 careergames started) with 11saves.
Before becoming a Major League manager, he led several higher-levelminor league clubs, including theAtlanta Crackers,Hollywood Stars,Phoenix Giants,Columbus Jets andRochester Red Wings. He also served as the MLB pitching coach for the Reds andPittsburgh Pirates, and roving minor league pitching instructor for theSt. Louis Cardinals.
King succeededHerman Franks as San Francisco's manager in1969 after Franks' Giants had finished in second place in the ten-teamNational League for four successive seasons. In King'sfirst year as their skipper, the Giants won 90 games, a two-game improvement over1968. But again they were runners-up, this time in the new, six-teamNational League West Division, three games behind the Braves. King clashed with Giants starWillie Mays during the year, over a misunderstanding on whether Mays was supposed to play or not in a game against the Astros. According to Mays, King threatened a fine—Horace Stoneham would not permit it, butChub Feeney, the general manager, made Mays apologize to King, not wanting to create a rift on the ballclub. "I lost any respect I ever had for King," Mays wrote in his autobiography. "I thought of him as a back stabber, and we didn't talk for the rest of the year (1969)."[3] When the1970 Giants got off to only a 19–23 start, King was fired on May 23; San Francisco was trailing Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in the NL West by 12 games at the time.
King then returned to the high minors to manage theRichmond Braves of theTriple-AInternational League for two seasons, followed by a stint as a special assistant to Braves' general managerEddie Robinson from 1973 through July 23, 1974. That day, with Atlanta one game above .500, Robinson fired skipperEddie Mathews and named King interim manager.King's Braves responded by posting a 38–25 record and won 88 games—their best performance since 1969. But King's1975 team collapsed; it was 58–76 and 311⁄2 games behind the Reds on August 29, 1975, when King was replaced as manager byConnie Ryan.
He then joined the Yankees' front office in 1976 and played a number of key roles—super scout, pitching coach, general manager and special advisor, in addition to managing them for the final 62 games of 1982. ReplacingGene Michael, he won 29 games and lost 33 as the defendingAmerican League champions fell to fifth place in theAL East Division.[4] He remained with the Yankees for the rest of his life.[1]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| SF | 1969 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 2nd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| SF | 1970 | 42 | 19 | 23 | .452 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| SF total | 204 | 109 | 95 | .534 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| ATL | 1974 | 63 | 38 | 25 | .603 | 3rd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 1975 | 144 | 58 | 76 | .433 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| ATL total | 197 | 96 | 101 | .487 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| NYY | 1982 | 62 | 29 | 33 | .468 | 5th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| NYY total | 62 | 29 | 33 | .468 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total | 463 | 234 | 229 | .505 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
King died in his native Goldsboro at the age of 86,[5] survived by his wife Norma, their three daughters and sons-in-law, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild (Talley Blackman).[6]
His autobiography,A King's Legacy, The Clyde King Story, was published in 1999. In 2002, he wrote the foreword forBaseball in the Carolinas, 25 Essays on the States' Hardball Heritage, edited by Chris Holaday.
King was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Clyde King's brother, Claude,[7] was a minor league pitcher for several seasons.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Atlanta Crackersmanager 1955–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Hollywood Starsmanager 1957 | Succeeded by Franchise relocated |
| Preceded by | Columbus Jetsmanager 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cincinnati Redspitching coach 1959 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Rochester Red Wingsmanager 1959–1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pittsburgh Piratespitching coach 1965–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Phoenix Giantsmanager 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Richmond Bravesmanager 1971–1972 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |