| Bob Coleman | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Coleman as a Boston Brave (1943–45) | |
| Catcher /Coach /Manager | |
| Born:(1890-09-26)September 26, 1890 Huntingburg, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: July 16, 1959(1959-07-16) (aged 68) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 13, 1913, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 9, 1916, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .241 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 27 |
| Games managed | 295 |
| Managerial record | 128–165 |
| Winning % | .437 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Robert Hunter Coleman (September 26, 1890 – July 16, 1959) was an Americancatcher,coach andmanager inMajor League Baseball. Notably, he served two terms as pilot of theBoston Braves of theNational League—as acting skipper from April 24 to June 17, 1943, and as the Braves' official field leader from the start of 1944 through July 29, 1945.
Coleman also was one of the most successful managers in the history ofminor league baseball, where, between 1919 and 1957 (with interruptions caused by major league service) he won ten regular season pennants and five league playoff titles. He won his firstpennant with the 1922Terre Haute Tots of theThree-I League, and he also won a championship with the 1935Springfield Senators, also of the Three-I League. The rest of his titles came with theEvansville, Indiana, franchise in that circuit.
A native ofHuntingburg, Indiana, Coleman played just three seasons in the majors, with thePittsburgh Pirates (1913–14) and theCleveland Indians (1916).The New York Times took notice of the fact that Coleman "accepted 13 chances on the 13th day of June in the year 1913" during a 3–2 loss to theNew York Giants.[1] The right-handed-hitting catcherbatted .241 with 55hits and onehome run in 116 total games.
In 1919, at age 28, he embarked on his managerial career with theMobile Bears of the Class ASouthern Association. By1926 he was a coach for theBoston Red Sox, but the following season he returned to the minor leagues, and in 1928 he became manager of theEvansville Hubs of the Class BThree-I League, where he would spend much of the rest of his baseball career. He managed Evansville for 20 seasons over four separate tours of duty (1928–31; 1938–42; 1946–49; 1951–57), and won eight pennants there (1930, 1938, 1941, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1956 and 1957) including his final season.
Coleman made it back to the majors as a coach with theDetroit Tigers in1932 and theBoston Braves in1943. On April 20, 1943, four days before the National League season was about to begin, his boss, managerCasey Stengel, suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a taxicab as he tried to cross a Boston street. Coleman stepped in for 46 games, through June 17, while Stengel recovered (the Braves winning 21). At season's end, Stengel was fired and Coleman was named permanent manager of the Braves for1944. But the wartime Braves were not contenders and after a sixth-place 1944 finish was followed by a sluggish start to1945, Coleman was replaced by one of his coaches,Del Bissonette, on July 29. His final record as a Major League manager was 128–165–2 (.437).
He then returned to Evansville as manager of theEvansville Braves, a Bostonfarm team, and resumed his minor league career. In 35 seasons as a minor league skipper, Coleman's teams won 2,496 games and lost 2,103 (.543).
In 1958, theMilwaukee Braves named Coleman to theirscouting staff. One year later, on July 16, 1959, he died inBoston fromcancer at age 68.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BSN | 1943 | 46 | 21 | 25 | .457 | Sixth Acting manager 4/24–6/17 | – | – | – | – |
| BSN | 1944 | 155 | 65 | 89 | .422 | Sixth | – | – | – | – |
| BSN | 1945 | 94 | 42 | 51 | .452 | Seventh Fired 7/29 | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 295 | 128 | 165 | .437 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
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