List of Louisville Colonels managers

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Hall of Famer Fred Clarke was the Louisville Colonels' last Major League manager.

The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in Louisville, Kentucky. They played in the American Association when it was considered a major league from 1882 through 1891 and in the National League from 1892 through 1899, after which the team folded and its best players were transferred to the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1][2] From 1882 through 1884 the team was named the Louisville Eclipse.[1] During their time as a Major League team, the Colonels employed 17 managers.[3] The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[4][5]

The Colonels' first manager was Denny Mack.[1] Mack managed the team for one season (1882), in which he led the Colonels to a record of 38 wins and 42 losses.[3] Fred Clarke was the Colonels' last manager.[1] Clarke took over as player-manager of the team during the 1897 season, and managed the team through the 1899 season while also playing as an outfielder for the Colonels.[1][6] Clarke was one of the players transferred to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900, as were Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach, Claude Ritchey and Deacon Phillippe.[7][8] Clarke took over as the Pirates' player-manager, and after a second-place finish in 1900, he led the Pirates, with the former Colonels stars, to three consecutive league pennants in 1901, 1902, 1903, and a World Series championship in 1909.[9] Clarke was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945, the only Colonels' manager so honored.[10][11] The Colonels won their only Major League pennant when they had the best record in the American Association in 1890.[1] They played to a tie in the World Series that season against the National League champion Brooklyn Bridegrooms; each team won three games and there was one tie game.[a][12] Jack Chapman was the Colonels' manager that season.[3]

Clarke holds the Colonels' record for games managed (402), managerial wins (180), and managerial losses (212).[3] Mike Walsh, who managed the team in 1884, has the highest winning percentage of any Colonels' manager, at .630.[3] The only other two managers who had winning percentages over .500 for the Colonels are Mack and Joe Gerhardt, who managed the team in 1883.[3] The only Colonels' manager who served more than one term was Mordecai Davidson, who served two terms during the 1888 season while he was also the team's owner.[13][14] Davidson replaced John Kelly for three games before being replaced by John Kerins.[3][13] After Kerins managed the Colonels for seven games, Davidson took over again for the final 90 games of the season.[3][13] Davidson's total managerial record with the Colonels was 93 games managed with 35 wins and 54 losses, for a winning percentage of .393.[13]

Table key[edit]

#
A running total of the number of Colonels managers. Any manager who has two or more separate terms is counted only once.
G
Number of regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games
W
Number of regular season wins in games managed
L
Number of regular season losses in games managed
WPct
Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed
PA
Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the playoffs
PW
Playoff wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the playoffs
PL
Playoff losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the playoffs
LC
League Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager
WS
World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Managers[edit]

#[b] Image Manager Seasons G W L WPct PA PW PL LC WS Ref
1 Denny Mack 1882 80 42 38 .525 [15]
2 Joe Gerhardt 1883 98 52 45 .536 [16]
3 Mike Walsh 1884 110 68 40 .630 [17]
4 Jim Hart 18851886 250 119 129 .480 [18]
5 John Kelly 18871888 178 86 89 .491 [19][20][21]
6 Mordecai Davidson 1888 3 1 2 .333 [13]
7 John Kerins 1888 7 3 4 .429 [22]
Mordecai Davidson 1888 90 34 52 .395 [13]
8 Dude Esterbrook 1889 10 2 8 .200 [23]
9 Jimmy Wolf 1889 65 14 51 .215 [24]
10 Dan Shannon 1889 58 10 46 .179 [25]
11 Jack Chapman 18891892 336 164 166 .497 1 3 3 1 0[a] [12][26]
12 Fred Pfeffer 1892 100 42 56 .429 [27]
13 Billy Barnie 18931894 257 86 169 .337 [28]
14 John McCloskey 18951896 152 37 113 .247 [29]
15 Bill McGunnigle 1896 115 36 76 .321 [30]
16 Jim Rogers 1897 44 17 24 .415 [31]
17 Fred Clarke 18971899 402 180 212 .459 [9]
Totals 17 managers 18 seasons 2,355 993 1,320 .429 1 3 3 1 0

Footnotes[edit]

  • a Although the Colonels played in the tournament called the World Series in 1890, the 19th-century World Series was a different event from the current World Series, which began in 1903. The 19th-century World Series was considered an exhibition contest between the champion of the National League and the champion of the American Association. The Colonels tied the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in the 1890 World Series.[12][32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Louisville Colonels Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  2. ^ Bernstein, S. "Barney Dreyfuss". The Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Louisville Colonels Managerial Register". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  4. ^ "Manager: Definition | Dictionary.com". Dictionary.Reference.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 2006. Archived from the original on 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  5. ^ Dickson, P. (2009). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. p. 530. ISBN 978-0-393-06681-4.
  6. ^ "Fred Clarke". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  7. ^ Simon, T. (2004). "Pittsburgh". Deadball Stars of the National League. Brassey's, Inc. p. 141. ISBN 1-57488-860-9.
  8. ^ Louisa, A. (2004). "Claude Cassius Ritchey". In Simon, T (ed.). Deadball Stars of the National League. Brassey's, Inc. pp. 161–162. ISBN 1-57488-860-9.
  9. ^ a b "Fred Clarke Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  10. ^ "Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame with Induction Year". The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  11. ^ "Louisville Colonels Hall of Fame Register". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  12. ^ a b c "1890 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-08. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Mordecai Davidson Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  14. ^ Sullivan, D. (1997). Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825–1908. U of Nebraska Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-8032-9244-4.
  15. ^ "Denny Mack Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  16. ^ "Joe Gerhardt Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  17. ^ "Mike Walsh Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  18. ^ "Jim Hart Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  19. ^ Smith, J.D. "Honest John Kelly He Was One of a Kind" (PDF). The Baseball Research Journal (14). The Society for American Baseball Research: 7–9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  20. ^ "Kick Kelly". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  21. ^ Fleitz, D.L. (2009). The Irish in Baseball: An Early History. McFarland. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7864-3419-0.
  22. ^ "John Kerins Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  23. ^ "Dude Esterbrook Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  24. ^ "Jimmy Wolf Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  25. ^ "Dan Shannon Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  26. ^ "Jack Chapman". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  27. ^ "Fred Pfeffer". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  28. ^ "Billy Barnie Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  29. ^ "John McCloskey Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  30. ^ "Bill McGunnigle Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  31. ^ "Jim Rogers Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  32. ^ "World Series". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-15.