American baseball player and manager (1917-1976)
Baseball player
Danny Murtaugh
|
---|
|
Second baseman
/
Manager
|
Born:
(
1917-10-08
)
October 8, 1917
Chester, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
|
Died:
December 2, 1976
(1976-12-02)
(aged 59)
Upland, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
July 3, 1941, for the Philadelphia Phillies
|
|
September 6, 1951, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
|
|
Batting average
| .254
|
---|
Home runs
| 8
|
---|
Runs batted in
| 219
|
---|
Managerial record
| 1,115?950
|
---|
Winning %
| .540
|
---|
|
---|
|
- As player
- As manager
- As coach
|
|
|
Daniel Edward Murtaugh
(October 8, 1917 ? December 2, 1976) was an American
second baseman
,
manager
, front-office executive, and
coach
in
Major League Baseball
(
MLB
). Murtaugh is best known for his 29-year association with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
, with whom he won two
World Series
as field manager (in
1960
and
1971
). He also played 416 of his 767 career MLB
games
with the Pirates as their second baseman.
Life and career
[
edit
]
As player
[
edit
]
Murtaugh appeared in all or parts of nine big-league seasons, initially for the
Philadelphia Phillies
(1941?43, 1946) and
Boston Braves
(1947) before joining the Pirates (1948?51). He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg).
A native of
Chester, Pennsylvania
, Murtaugh was working with his father at
Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
after he graduated from
Chester High School
when he took a pay cut to start his
professional baseball
career at age 19 in 1937. After signing with the
St. Louis Cardinals
, he joined the Redbirds' extensive
farm system
, initially as a member of the
Cambridge (Maryland) Cardinals
of the Class D
Eastern Shore League
. In June 1941, in the midst of Murtaugh's second consecutive stellar season with the
Houston Buffaloes
of the
Texas League
, the Phillies purchased his contract; he then made his MLB debut on July 3 as a defensive replacement for
Hal Marnie
against Boston at
Braves Field
.
[1]
The following day he started both ends of a July 4
doubleheader
and essentially took over as the Phils' regular second baseman.
As a
rookie
, Murtaugh led the
National League
in
stolen bases
with 18, even though he played only 85 games after his acquisition from Houston in late June. In 1942?43 he got into 257
games
before joining the
United States Army
in August 1943 for
World War II
service. He declined the opportunity to play baseball in the United States and served in combat with the 97th Infantry in
Germany
.
[2]
Returning to baseball in
1946
, he played in only six games for Philadelphia before he was sold back to the Cardinals' organization. At
Triple-A
Rochester
, Murtaugh
hit
.322 and his 174
hits
were tied for first in the
International League
. The Braves then selected him in the 1946
Rule 5 draft
, but Murtaugh played in only three early-season games for them before he was again sent to Triple-A. At 29, he had another good offensive season, hitting .302 for
Milwaukee
. Although his performance did not earn Murtaugh a return to the Braves, it led to perhaps his biggest break when, on November 18, Boston included him in a five-player trade to the Pirates, where he spent the rest of his big-league career.
His most productive season came in his first year with the Bucs,
1948
, when he hit .290 and posted career highs in hits (149),
runs batted in
(71),
runs scored
(56),
doubles
(21),
triples
(5) and
games played
(146). He started a career-high 145 games as the Pirates' second baseman. After a subpar
1949
, Murtaugh rebounded by hitting a personal-best .294 in
1950
. Overall, Murtaugh was a .254 career lifetime batter with 661 hits, eight
home runs
and 219 RBI in 767 games.
As manager
[
edit
]
After retiring as a player, Murtaugh managed the
New Orleans Pelicans
(1952?54), the Pirates'
Double-A
farm club, and the unaffiliated Triple-A
Charleston Senators
(April 19?July 16, 1955). In 1956 he returned to the Pirates as a coach under
Bobby Bragan
. In his second year in the job, on
August 4, 1957
, he succeeded Bragan as skipper with the Bucs 36?67 and one game out of last place; under Murtaugh, they perked up to win 26 of their final 51 games. In his first full season,
1958
, Murtaugh led the Pirates to a surprise second-place finish in the National League. He went on to hold the Pittsburgh job for all or parts of fifteen seasons over four different terms (1957?64, 1967, 1970?71, 1973?76).
In
1960
, his third full season as their manager, Murtaugh guided the Bucs to the first of the two
World Series
championships they won under his command. After they captured the National League
pennant
by seven full games over the Milwaukee Braves, they stunned the heavy-hitting
New York Yankees
in the
1960 World Series
?won in Pittsburgh's last
at bat
by
Bill Mazeroski
's
walk-off home run
in the
ninth inning
of Game 7. The Yankees outscored Pittsburgh 55?27, and administered three thrashings (16?3, 10?0 and 12?0), but the resilient Pirates took the other four contests by a run differential of only +7 (6?4, 3?2, 5?2 and 10?9).
From 1961 to 1964, his Pirates had only one over-.500 season and, after the conclusion of the
1964
campaign, Murtaugh stepped down as manager just before his 47th birthday. He had been battling health problems, sometimes reported as a
heart ailment
.
[3]
He moved up to the Pirate front office as a key assistant in charge of evaluating players for
general manager
Joe L. Brown
. After the 1965 season, he turned down feelers from the
Boston Red Sox
to join their organization as vice president, player personnel. Then, in
1967
, when his immediate successor as the Pirates' manager,
Harry Walker
, was fired July 17, Murtaugh returned as interim pilot for the remainder of the 1967 season, after which he returned to the front office.
Well aware of the abundance of talent in the Pittsburgh system, Murtaugh asked to reclaim the managing job after
Larry Shepard
was fired in the last week of the
1969
season. Once medically cleared, he began his third term as skipper of the Pirates on October 9, 1969; hours after Murtaugh's re-hiring,
Don Hoak
, 41, his third baseman on the 1960 World Series champions and a manager in the Pirates'
farm system
, died of a
heart attack
after believing he was a leading contender to manage the parent club.
Murtaugh's first two clubs won the 1970?71
National League East Division
titles. Although the
1970
squad fell in that season's
National League Championship Series
to the
Cincinnati Reds
, Murtaugh's
1971 Pirates
would bounce back. On September 1, 1971, Murtaugh was the first manager in major league history to field a starting lineup consisting of nine black players (including both African Americans and Afro-Latin Americans); the Pirates beat the Phillies 10?7 in that game.
[4]
The next month, they defeated the
San Francisco Giants
in the
NLCS
and then captured the
1971 World Series
with a memorable comeback from a two-games-to-none deficit against the favored
Baltimore Orioles
. That World Series was marked by the brilliant performance of future
Baseball Hall of Famer
Roberto Clemente
, who batted .414 with twelve hits to lead his team to the championship.
Citing renewed health concerns ? he had been hospitalized for chest pain during the 1971 season
[3]
? Murtaugh again resigned as manager after the world title. He moved back into the Pittsburgh front office, and his hand-picked successor,
Bill Virdon
(center fielder for his 1960 champions), took over for
1972
? although Murtaugh, as manager of the reigning World Series champs, did return to uniform to manage the National League entry in the
1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
in
Atlanta
, a 4?3 triumph for the Senior Circuit.
With the
1973
Pirates scuffling with a 67?69 mark on September 5, Brown fired Virdon and asked Murtaugh to reclaim his old job. Murtaugh reluctantly returned to managing, his fourth term in the post, and stayed through the
1976
season, winning NL East titles in
1974
and
1975
but falling to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
and the Reds in the NLCS in successive years. After a second-place finish in
1976
, both Murtaugh and Brown announced their retirements during the final week of the season.
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
Murtaugh suffered a
stroke
on November 30, 1976, just two months after retiring. After falling into a coma, Murtaugh died on December 2 at Crozier-Chester Medical Center in
Upland, Pennsylvania
.
[5]
His funeral occurred on December 6 at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in
Folsom, Pennsylvania
, attended by over 800 people, including multiple members of the Pirates organization:
Willie Stargell
,
Bill Robinson
,
Bruce Kison
,
Dave Giusti
,
Larry Demery
,
Jim Rooker
,
Al Oliver
, and
Bob Robertson
. Coaches
Don Leppert
and
Jose Pagan
also attended, along with
Steve Blass
and
Manny Sanguillen
. Afterwards, a 70-car procession led Murtaugh's body to its resting place at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in
Marple Township
.
[6]
The number 40 he wore as the Bucs' manager was retired by the Pirates on April 7, 1977.
[7]
Murtaugh was a two-time winner (1960 and 1971) of The
Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
. He compiled a 1,115?950?3 record in 2,068 games (.540),
[8]
second in Pirates history behind only
Fred Clarke
. In addition to his two National League
pennants
and world championships, he won four Eastern Division titles (1970?1971-1974?1975), and no Pirates manager has won more division titles in their tenure since his death. In twelve full seasons as manager, he led the Pirates to a winning record nine times; his five postseason appearances with the Pirates is still the most by any manager in team history.
Managerial record
[
edit
]
Team
|
Year
|
Regular season
|
Postseason
|
Games
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Win %
|
Finish
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Win %
|
Result
|
PIT
|
1957
|
51
|
26
|
25
|
.510
|
7th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1958
|
154
|
84
|
70
|
.545
|
2nd in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1959
|
155
|
78
|
76
|
.506
|
4th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1960
|
155
|
95
|
59
|
.617
|
1st in NL
|
4
|
3
|
.571
|
Won
World Series
(
NYY
)
|
PIT
|
1961
|
154
|
75
|
79
|
.487
|
6th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1962
|
161
|
93
|
68
|
.578
|
4th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1963
|
162
|
74
|
88
|
.457
|
8th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1964
|
162
|
80
|
82
|
.494
|
6th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
PIT
|
1967
|
79
|
39
|
39
|
.500
|
6th in NL
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
PIT
|
1970
|
162
|
89
|
73
|
.549
|
1st in NL East
|
0
|
3
|
.000
|
Lost
NLCS
(
CIN
)
|
PIT
|
1971
|
162
|
97
|
65
|
.599
|
1st in NL East
|
7
|
4
|
.636
|
Won
World Series
(
BAL
)
|
|
PIT
|
1973
|
26
|
13
|
13
|
.500
|
3rd in NL East
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
PIT
|
1974
|
162
|
88
|
74
|
.543
|
1st in NL East
|
1
|
3
|
.250
|
Lost
NLCS
(
LAD
)
|
PIT
|
1975
|
161
|
92
|
69
|
.571
|
1st in NL East
|
0
|
3
|
.000
|
Lost
NLCS
(
CIN
)
|
PIT
|
1976
|
162
|
92
|
70
|
.568
|
2nd in NL East
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Total
[8]
|
2,068
[a]
|
1115
|
950
|
.540
|
|
12
|
16
|
.429
|
|
Highlights
[
edit
]
- Led NL in stolen bases (1941)
- Led NL second basemen in
putouts
,
assists
and
double plays
(1948)
- Finished 9th in the NL
MVP
selection (1948)
- Selected "Man of the Year" by
Sport
magazine (1960)
- Twice received
The Sporting News
Manager of the Year Award
(1960, 1970)
- Three-time
Dapper Dan Award
-winner (1958, 1970, 1971)
- One of 65 managers in major league history to win 1,000 or more games, and one of only twelve to win 1,000 games while also not losing 1,000 games
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Retrosheet
box score: 1941-07-03
- ^
"Danny Murtaugh"
.
sabr.org
. Retrieved
August 12,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
The Associated Press
(December 2, 1976).
"Danny Murtaugh is Dead at 59; Won 2 Series as Pirate Manager"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2017-10-09
.
- ^
Alonso, Nathalie (September 1, 2022).
"The Pirates Lineup That Changed Baseball"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
September 14,
2022
.
- ^
"Danny Murtaugh Dies in Coma After Stroke"
.
The Daily American
.
Somerset, Pennsylvania
. December 3, 1976. p. 12
. Retrieved
April 26,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"
"Civilized World Love Murtaugh," Says His Eulogy"
.
The Press of Atlantic City
. December 7, 1976. p. 20
. Retrieved
April 26,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Bucs Face Cards at Home"
.
The Salem News
.
Salem, Ohio
. April 7, 1977. p. 10
. Retrieved
April 26,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
a
b
"Danny Murtaugh"
.
Baseball Reference
. Sports Reference
. Retrieved
October 3,
2015
.
- "A great manager, a great man" Hroncich, Colleen,
Columbia
, (KofC, New Haven, CT, July 2016)
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Murtaugh also managed in three games that ended in a tie
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Pitchers
| |
---|
Catchers
| |
---|
Infielders
| |
---|
Outfielders
| |
---|
Managers
| |
---|
Footnotes
| |
---|