| Frank Lane | |
|---|---|
 Lane (right) shaking the hand ofBill McGill after he signed with theChicago Packers in May 1962 | |
| General manager, executive | |
| Born:(1895-02-01)February 1, 1895 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: March 19, 1981(1981-03-19) (aged 86) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Frank Charles Meyers Lane[1] (February 1, 1895[1] – March 19, 1981) was an American executive inprofessional baseball, most notably serving as ageneral manager inMajor League Baseball for theChicago White Sox,St. Louis Cardinals,Cleveland Indians,Kansas City Athletics andMilwaukee Brewers for over fifteen seasons between1948 and1972.
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1895-02-01)February 1, 1895 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 1981(1981-03-19) (aged 86) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Career history | |
| c. 1910–1919 | Cincinnati Celts |
| Other information | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Born inCincinnati, Ohio, Lane's first involvement with professional sports came inAmerican football, where he playedguard for a number of "Ohio League" teams prior to the creation of theNational Football League. After his attempt at playing professional baseball fell short, Lane shifted to officiating, serving as areferee in both football andbasketball.
In 1933 he was named as traveling secretary for theCincinnati Reds, while continuing to spend his offseasons as an official. After later spending one season as general manager of the team'sDurham, North Carolina minor league club, Lane was elevated to assistant general manager for the Reds underWarren Giles on November 17, 1936.
After the U.S. entered World War II, Lane joined theNavy and spent the next four years in the service before returning in1946 as general manager of theKansas City Blues, a topfarm club of theNew York Yankees. One year in that position led to a two-year stretch as president of the minor leagueAmerican Association.
Lane then resigned that post in1948 to become general manager of the White Sox. Over the next seven years, he shaped the team into a contender after more than two decades of mediocrity, acquiringBaseball Hall of FamersNellie Fox andMinnie Miñoso, andAll-StarsChico Carrasquel,Sherm Lollar andBilly Pierce, among many others. Fox, a future 15-time All-Star and1959American League MVP, was acquired from thePhiladelphia Athletics at age 21, straight-up for backupcatcherJoe Tipton; the price of theDetroit Tigers' Pierce (also 21), a future seven-time AL All-Star who would win 186 games in a White Sox uniform, was another catcher, 33-year-oldAaron Robinson, who had only three major-league seasons left in his tank. In his seven years in Chicago, Lane made 241 trades.[2] The ChiSox made their league'sfirst division in 1951, and topped the one-million mark in attendance each year for the remainder of Lane's tenure.
After resigning in September1955, Lane quickly found work again in St. Louis, signing a three-year contract as general manager of the Cardinals on October 6.[3] His first controversial move was to introduce new home and away uniforms of which the pair of redbirds on a bat was removed in favor of only the name "Cardinals" in red script edged with navy blue.[4] In what he subsequently referred to as "the worst trade [he] ever made,"[5] Lane sentBill Virdon, recipient of the previous season'sNational League Rookie of the Year Award, to the Pirates forBobby Del Greco andDick Littlefield on May 17, 1956.[6] When Lane tried to trade superstar hitterStan Musial to thePhiladelphia Phillies for pitcherRobin Roberts—both future Hall of Famers—news of the proposed transaction was leaked to the radio and Cardinals' ownerAugust A. Busch Jr. stopped the deal.[7]
The Cardinals finished second in their league in1957, eight games out, but Lane moved on to Cleveland in November to take the reins of the Indians' front office. There hegained infamy in April 1960 by trading popular star sluggerRocky Colavito, who co-led the Junior Circuit in home runs in 1959, to the Detroit Tigers forHarvey Kuenn, the defending American League batting champion, whom Lane would trade to theSan Francisco Giants on December 3 forJohn Antonelli andWillie Kirkland; this was the final trade for Lane as GM of the Indians.[8]
Lane left Cleveland in January1961 to become general manager of the Kansas City Athletics, but the combination of Lane and volatile ownerCharlie Finley led to an early end to Lane's employment just eight months later, and a lawsuit ensued. Due to his uncertain contract status, Lane was forced out of baseball during this period, but found employment in early 1962 as general manager of theNational Basketball Association'sChicago Packers. He did not join the team when they moved to Baltimore after the 1963 season. The following year, the lawsuit finally went to trial.[9]
On January 8, 1965, Lane settled his lawsuit with Finley, accepting $113,000 plus the freedom to take another baseball front-office position. Early reports of his being part of an ownership group to buy theBoston Red Sox, as well as potentially serving as president of theTexas League, proved to be unfounded. Instead, he was appointed as a special assistant to the president with theBaltimore Orioles two months later on March 6, handling the duties of ascout, field representative and traveling ambassador.[10] He served in that capacity for nearly six years.
Shortly before his 76th birthday, Lane was hired as director of player personnel with theMilwaukee Brewers on January 23, 1971.[11] He took advantage of the rain postponement of Game 2 of the1971 World Series on October 10 to acquireGeorge Scott,Jim Lonborg,Ken Brett,Billy Conigliaro,Joe Lahoud andDon Pavletich in a ten-player blockbuster that also sentTommy Harper,Marty Pattin,Lew Krausse Jr. and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable to the Red Sox.[12] Lane ended his career as a scout for both theCalifornia Angels andTexas Rangers.
Lane gained fame (and sometimes infamy) for his many transactions,[13] earning nicknames such as "Trader Frank", "Frantic Frank", "Trader Lane" and "The Wheeler Dealer" for having made over 400 trades in his career, including 241 with the White Sox alone. Lane traded star players, such asNorm Cash,Rocky Colavito andRoger Maris, as well as future Hall of FamersRed Schoendienst andEarly Wynn.
Yet players were not the only people involved in Lane's transactions – in1960, during his tenure with the Indians, he dealt managerJoe Gordon in exchange forDetroit Tigers skipperJimmy Dykes.
He died in aDallas, Texas nursing home at 86 years of age. InBobby Bragan's bookYou Can't Hit the Ball With the Bat On Your Shoulder, Bragan wrote that he was asked by CommissionerBowie Kuhn's office to represent Major League Baseball at the funeral. He was the lone baseball official to attend.[14]
| Preceded by | American AssociationPresident 1947–1948 | Succeeded by Bruce Dudley |
| Preceded by | Chicago White SoxGeneral Manager 1948–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | St. Louis CardinalsGeneral Manager 1955–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cleveland IndiansGeneral Manager 1957–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Kansas City AthleticsGeneral Manager 1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Milwaukee BrewersGeneral Manager 1970–1972 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
