| Walter Alston | |
|---|---|
 Alston in 1976 | |
| First baseman /Manager | |
| Born:(1911-12-01)December 1, 1911 Venice, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: October 1, 1984(1984-10-01) (aged 72) Oxford, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 27, 1936, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1936, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games managed | 3,658 |
| Managerial record | 2,040–1,613 |
| Winning % | .558 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1983 |
| Vote | Veterans Committee |
Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an Americanbaseball manager inMajor League Baseball who managed theBrooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from1954 through1976, signing 23 one-year contracts with theteam.[1] Regarded as one of the greatest managers in baseball history, Alston was known for his calm, reticent demeanor, for which he was sometimes referred to as "the Quiet Man."
Born and raised in ruralOhio, Alstonlettered in baseball and basketball atMiami University inOxford. A journeyman whose MLB playing career consisted of only one game–twoinnings played and one at-bat with theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1936–Alston spent 19 years in theminor leagues as a player,player-manager and non-playing manager. His service included a stint as manager of the 1946Nashua Dodgers, the first U.S.-based integrated professional team in modern baseball. After six successful seasons as manager of Brooklyn'sTriple-A teams, theSt. Paul Saints andMontreal Royals, Alston was promoted to manage the Dodgers in 1954.
As a major league manager, Alston led Dodger teams to sevenNational League (NL) pennants and four World Series titles, including the onlychampionship title won while the club was still inBrooklyn. After 23 seasons, Alston retired with over 2,000 career wins and had been selected as Manager of the Year six times. He also managed NLAll-Star teams to seven victories. Alston's number 24 wasretired by theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1977. In 1983, he was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame but was unable to attend his induction ceremony after suffering a heart attack that year and being hospitalized for a month. He never fully recovered and died inOxford, Ohio, onOctober 1, 1984.[2]
Walter Emmons Alston was born on December 1, 1911, inVenice, Ohio.[3] Alston spent much of his childhood on a farm inMorning Sun; when he was a teenager, the family moved toDarrtown.[4]
Alston attended Milford Township High School in Darrtown,[5] and received the nickname "Smokey" as a high school pitcher, owing to the speed of his fastball.[6]
He graduated from high school in 1929 and married longtime girlfriend Lela Vaughn Alexander the next year.[7]
In 1935, Alston graduated with a degree in industrial arts and physical education fromMiami University inOxford, Ohio. He said that finances were a challenge in college and that he had paid his way through school by playingpool.[7] Helettered three years in bothbasketball andbaseball.[8]
Alston playedminor league baseball as an infielder for theGreenwood Chiefs andHuntington Red Birds in 1935 and 1936, respectively. For the 1936 Huntington team, he hit 35home runs in 120 games.[9] Alston's only major league game was with theSt. Louis Cardinals on September 27, 1936, substituting forJohnny Mize at first base. He later described his major league playing career to a reporter by saying, "Well, I came up to bat for the Cards back in '36, andLon Warneke struck me out. That's it." He also committed one error in two fielding chances at first base.[10]
Alston returned to the minor leagues after his brief MLB appearance. He split the 1937 season between theHouston Buffaloes andRochester Red Wings, hitting for a combined .229batting average. Alston played for thePortsmouth Red Birds in 1938, finishing the season with a .311 average and 28 home runs as Portsmouth won its onlyMiddle Atlantic League championship.[9][11] He returned to Portsmouth in 1940, hit 28 home runs and was a player-manager for part of the season. He was a player-manager for the next two seasons with theSpringfield Cardinals and even appeared in seven games as a pitcher in 1942. He returned to Rochester as a first baseman and third baseman in 1943 then moved to theTrenton Packers, where he was a player-manager in 1944 and 1945.[9] Alston had been offered the job in Trenton, a minor league farm club of theBrooklyn Dodgers, byBranch Rickey, the executive who had signed him as a player with St. Louis.[12]
After his two seasons with Trenton, Alston served as a player-manager for the first integrated U.S. baseball team based in the twentieth century, theNashua Dodgers of the Class-BNew England League. Alston managed black Dodgers prospectsDon Newcombe andRoy Campanella, leading Nashua to a New England League title in 1946.[12] Alston later said that he did not give much consideration to racial issues and that he had simply thought about how much they would benefit the team.[13]
Alston led thePueblo Dodgers to theWestern League title the next season. He appeared as a player in two games, which were his final professional playing appearances.[4] For his 13-season minor league playing career, Alston hit .295 with 176 home runs. However, he hit only .239 in 535at bats in Class AA, which was the highest minor league classification through 1945.[9][14]
In 1948, Alston managed theSt. Paul Saints, a Dodgers Class AAA affiliate, to an 86–68win–loss record. The team finished in third place, 14 games behind anIndianapolis Indians team managed byAl López.[15] That year, Alston managed Campanella again, where Campanella integrated theAmerican Association. The media was critical of Alston for playing Campanella; they said that the catcher was simply there to integrate the league. Campanella hit 13 home runs in 35 games and fans were dismayed when he was called up to the Dodgers.[16] The 1949 Saints finished with a 93-60 record and four of its players collected more than 90runs batted in (RBI).[17] The team finished in first place, half a game in front of Indianapolis.[18] During the baseball off-season, Alston worked as a teacher in Darrtown.[19]
From 1950 to 1953, Alston managed another Dodgers AAA affiliate, theMontreal Royals of theInternational League. The team won between 86 and 95 games during each season of Alston's tenure.[20] The 1951 and 1952 Montreal Royals won International League pennants.[21][22] In 1951 and 1953, Montreal won theGovernors' Cup playoff tournament. Alston was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame many years later in 2010.[23]
Alston was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for the1954 season.[4] His predecessor,Chuck Dressen, had moved on from the Dodgers after the team's leadership refused to sign him to a two-year or three-year contract.[24] Dressen had won two pennants in three years and nearly won a third.[25]
Dodgers executiveBuzzie Bavasi fought for Alston to be hired in Brooklyn. Bringing Alston to Brooklyn has been described as Bavasi's biggest contribution to the team's history. Alston was an unknown at the major league level and theNew York Daily News reported his hiring with the headline "Walter Who?"[26]
Becoming immediately known for his quiet nature, Alston was sometimes referred to as "The Quiet Man".[27] Alston's personality contrasted with that of Dressen, who was much more outspoken. Sportswriters had difficulty writing about Alston at first because he did not say much. He also seemed more conservative in his decisions on the field, which drew criticism from his players even though he had managed many of them in the minor leagues.Don Zimmer said that he had learned more from Dressen and that Dressen knew more about baseball than Alston.Jackie Robinson did not like Alston at first either, according to Robinson's wife.[28]
Alston commented on his approach, saying, "I never criticized a player for a mistake on the spot. Whenever I got steamed up about something, I always wanted to sleep on it and face the situation with a clear head."[19] SportswriterJim Murray said that Alston was "the only guy in the game who could lookBilly Graham right in the face without blushing and who would order corn on the cob in aParis restaurant."[29] The 1954 Dodgers finished second in the NL as bothGil Hodges andDuke Snider hit at least 40 home runs and registered 130runs batted in.[30]
Brooklyn got off to a strong start in1955, but anAssociated Press article noted that Alston was reticent in response to questions and that he did not seem like a manager who had won ten consecutivegames.[31] The Brooklyn Dodgers won the NL pennant and their onlyWorld Series championship. They clinched the pennant onSeptember 8,[32] earlier than any team had in NL history; at 92–46 (.667), the Dodgers were 17 games ahead of second placeMilwaukee with 16remaining.[33][34] In the World Series,Johnny Podres, started two games (third and seventh); he had a mediocre9–10 regular season record, but won both postseason starts.[35] The pitcher had struggled with arm problems for much of the season.[36]
Sandy Koufax emerged as a pitcher for the Dodgers during that championship season.[37] Alston was criticized byJackie Robinson,Roy Campanella, and others over his sparse use of Koufax in his early career. During Koufax's second MLB start, he pitched a shutout, giving up two hits and striking out 14 batters. However, that success did not prompt a lot of opportunities for Koufax. The pitcher appeared in only 12 games that season, mostly in relief, and would continue to be used sparingly and inconsistently by Alston over the next few seasons.[38] Years later, Koufax's teammateDon Drysdale told sportswriterRoger Kahn that he suspected that "latent antisemitism" on Alston's part likely played a role in the way Koufax, who was Jewish, was used as a young pitcher.[39]
The1956 team repeated as NL champions;[40] the team was bolstered by the play ofDuke Snider, who hit a league-leading 43 home runs and also led the league inwalks.[41] Despite winning the first two games of theWorld Series, the Dodgers lost in seven games to theYankees. The Dodgers fell to third place(84–70) in1957,[40] the final season in Brooklyn.
The team finished 21 games back in seventh place (71–83 (.461)) in1958, the club's first season in Los Angeles.[40] Criticism of Alston had begun to mount during that season, but he led the Dodgers to a world championship in 1959.[42] Six players on the1959 team finished with double-digit totals in home runs, while 22-year-old Drysdale led the team's pitchers with 17 wins.[43] Several Los Angeles players, includingWally Moon, characterized Alston as indecisive in the late 1950s and 1960s. However, Moon later came to describe Alston as a good manager who had gotten "good mileage" out of his players.[44]
Managing the NL All-Star Team in1960, Alston attracted some controversy when he leftMilwaukee Braves pitchersWarren Spahn andLew Burdette off the roster. AnAssociated Press report said the omission may have been a snub directed at Dressen, who was the manager in Milwaukee.[45] The1960 Dodgers finished in fourth place. Thefollowing year, the team finished in second place after veteranDuke Snider missed one month with a broken arm.[46][47] The Dodgers lost the lead in the1962 NL pennant race and rumors surfaced that Alston and coachLeo Durocher might be fired, but the team retained both for1963.[48]
The Dodgers swept the World Series in1963, the first time that theNew York Yankees had lost a World Series in four games. Alston's pitchers excelled, with Koufax striking out 23 batters over two games winning theWorld Series MVP Award. Over the four games, Alston employed only four pitchers: three starters and one reliever.[49] The1964 team was80–82, its first losing season since 1958.[5] Alston used the team's 1964 performance to motivate them moving forward. In spring training before the1965 season, he said that he would not let his team forget the difficulties they had in the previous season.[50]
The Dodgers returned to the World Series in1965 againstMinnesota. Alston could not start his number one pitcher, Koufax, in the opening game on October 6 because Koufax was observingYom Kippur. Instead, Alston turned to Drysdale, who struggled and surrendered seven runs in just2+2⁄3 innings. When Alston came to the mound to remove him in the bottom of the third, Drysdale quipped, "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too."[51] The team recovered from losing that first game and they won the World Series in seven games.[5] Koufax appeared in three games during the series, registering two shutouts.[51]
Alston's Dodgers teams of the 1960s benefited from the strong pitching by Drysdale and Koufax. In1966, both players held out of spring training and demanded three-year contracts each worth $500,000 (equivalent to $4,850,000 in 2024), which was more money than anyone was making in baseball at the time. The players were eventually signed for lesser amounts. Drysdale struggled that year, but Koufax won 27 games. The Dodgers returned to theWorld Series, but were swept by theBaltimore Orioles. Koufax retired after the season on the advice of doctors who examined his sore arm.[52] Drysdale retired three years later.[53] Both men had pitched their entire major league careers for Alston.[54]
Alston guided his teams to at least 85 wins per season in his last eight years at the helm,[5] with six runner-up finishes in the NL West division during that span.[40] The team came very close to a division title in1971; after falling 11 games out of first place, the team performed well late in the season and finished one game behind theSan Francisco Giants. Beginning in1973, Alston's team featured an infield ofSteve Garvey,Davey Lopes,Bill Russell, andRon Cey. The group played together for eight years, remaining together long after the end of Alston's tenure.[55]
In1974, the Dodgers won the NL pennant and faced the two-time defending championOakland Athletics in theWorld Series. Alston used closerMike Marshall in a record-setting 106 games that season and Marshall won theCy Young Award.[56] Alston received some media attention when he considered using Marshall as a starter.[57] Marshall ended up appearing in all five games of the series and gave up one run in nine innings, but he did not start a game; the Dodgers lost four games to one as the A's completed theirthree-peat.[58] The1975 and1976 teams won 88 and 92 games respectively, but finished well behindCincinnati in both seasons.[40]
A rift was developing among the Dodger players in the mid-1970s. Garvey was being heavily promoted by the Dodgers' P.R. staff, and some of his teammates resented the attention, thinking Garvey was trying too hard to get endorsement opportunities. Cey, Lopes, and another unnamed player criticized Garvey in a mid-June 1976San Bernardino Sun-Telegram article, which prompted Alston to call a team meeting. At this meeting, Garvey said, "If anyone has anything to say about me, I want it said to my face, here and now." No one said anything. PitcherTommy John thought it was at this point that Alston began to lose control of the team.[59]
On July 17, 1976, he became the fifth manager to win 2,000 games.[60] In September 1976, Alston announced that he would retire at the end of the season.[61] At a press conference, he said, "I've been in baseball for 41 years and it's been awfully good to me. This has been a pretty big day. I had three birdies playing golf for the first time in my life and now I'm announcing that I'm stepping down as manager. I toldPeter this afternoon to give somebody else a chance to manage the club."[62] WhenTommy Lasorda was selected to succeed him, Alston asked Lasorda to take over as manager for the final four games of the season.[63] Alston retired with 2,063wins (2,040 in the regular season and 23 in the postseason).[5] Alston was named NL Manager of the Year six times.[64] He also managed NLAll-Star squads a record nine times and won seven of those games.[65] At a time when multi-year contracts were on the rise, Alston's managerial career consisted of 23 one-year contracts.[61] He earned seven NL pennants in that span.[5]
SportswriterLeonard Koppett described Alston's role with the Dodgers, pointing out that O'Malley was always seen as "the boss" while Alston stuck to the on-field management of the team. Koppett said that Alston's loyalty and subdued nature contributed to the stability that the team enjoyed.[66] O'Malley once commented that Alston was "non-irritating. Do you realize how important it is to have a manager who doesn't irritate you?"[7]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | Games | Won | Lost | Pct. | Notes | ||
| BKN | 1954 | 154 | 92 | 62 | 0 | .597 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| BKN | 1955 | 154 | 98 | 55 | 1 | .640 | 1st in NL | 4 | 3 | .571 | WonWorld Series (NYY) |
| BKN | 1956 | 154 | 93 | 61 | 0 | .604 | 1st in NL | 3 | 4 | .429 | LostWorld Series (NYY) |
| BKN | 1957 | 154 | 84 | 70 | 0 | .545 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1958 | 154 | 71 | 83 | 0 | .461 | 7th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1959 | 156 | 88 | 68 | 0 | .564 | 1st in NL | 4 | 2 | .667 | WonWorld Series (CHW) |
| LAD | 1960 | 154 | 82 | 72 | 0 | .532 | 4th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1961 | 154 | 89 | 65 | 0 | .578 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1962 | 165 | 102 | 63 | 0 | .618 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1963 | 163 | 99 | 63 | 1 | .610 | 1st in NL | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | WonWorld Series (NYY) |
| LAD | 1964 | 164 | 80 | 82 | 2 | .494 | 7th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1965 | 162 | 97 | 65 | 0 | .599 | 1st in NL | 4 | 3 | .571 | WonWorld Series (MIN) |
| LAD | 1966 | 162 | 95 | 67 | 1 | .586 | 1st in NL | 0 | 4 | .000 | LostWorld Series (BAL) |
| LAD | 1967 | 162 | 73 | 89 | 0 | .451 | 8th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1968 | 162 | 76 | 86 | 0 | .469 | 8th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1969 | 162 | 85 | 77 | 0 | .525 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1970 | 161 | 87 | 74 | 0 | .540 | 2nd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1971 | 162 | 89 | 73 | 0 | .549 | 2nd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1972 | 155 | 85 | 70 | 0 | .548 | 3rd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1973 | 162 | 95 | 66 | 1 | .590 | 2nd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1974 | 162 | 102 | 60 | 0 | .630 | 1st in NL West | 4 | 5 | .444 | LostWorld Series (OAK) |
| LAD | 1975 | 162 | 88 | 74 | 0 | .543 | 2nd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| LAD | 1976 | 158 | 90 | 68 | 0 | .570 | 2nd in NL West | Resigned* | |||
| BKN/LAD total | 3658 | 2040 | 1613 | 5 | .558 | 23 | 21 | .523 | |||
| Total[67] | 3658 | 2040 | 1613 | 5 | .558 | 23 | 21 | .523 | |||
The Dodgers retired Alston's number 24 the year after he stepped down as manager, becoming only the fourth Dodger to receive the honor to that time.[68] He was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.[69] Alston suffered aheart attack that year and was hospitalized for a month.[19] Alston's grandson traveled to Cooperstown to represent the ill former manager at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.[70]
Alston died on October 1, 1984 in an Oxford hospital from complications from the recent heart attack. He was 72.[19] A funeral home spokesman said Alston had remained ill since the heart attack.[71] He is interred at Darrtown Cemetery in Darrtown, Ohio.[4]
Upon Alston's death, MLB commissionerPeter Ueberroth referred to him as one of baseball's greatest managers.[72] Former Dodgers greatDuke Snider acknowledged occasional run-ins with Alston, but said Alston excelled at utilizing the specific strengths of each team he had managed.[73]
BroadcasterVin Scully said of Alston:
I always imagined him to be the type who could ride shotgun on a stage through Indian territory. He was all man and two yards tall. He was very quiet, very controlled. He never made excuses. He gave the players the credit and he took the blame. He was so solid, so American.[74]
Alston is also credited with helping to break down the barriers for female sports journalists. On October 1, 1974, after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated theHouston Astros to clinch the NL West at the HoustonAstrodome, he invitedAnita Martini to the post-game press conference in the locker room. She became the first female journalist allowed in any major league locker room.[75]
In 1999,Ohio State Route 177 was renamed to Walter "Smokey" Alston Memorial Highway in his honor.[76] He was inducted into theInternational League Hall of Fame in 2010.[77] A memorial to Alston is located at Milford Township Community Park in his hometown of Darrtown.[78]
With Dodger manager Walter Alston's blessing, Houston broadcaster Anita Martini becomes the first female reporter allowed access to a major-league team's locker room
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