http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rld-series-champion-manager-passes-away-at-82
Chuck Tanner: World Series Champion Manager Passes Away at 82
By Zachary D. Rymer
(Featured Columnist) on February 11, 2011
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Chuck Tanner, Who Managed the Pittsburgh Pirates to Last World Series Championship in 1979, Passes Away on Friday
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won the National League pennant since 1979. That was the year the "We Are Family" team, spearheaded by the great Willie Stargell, defeated Earl Weaver's Baltimore Orioles in seven games to claim the World Series.
The manager of that team was Chuck Tanner, who passed away on Friday at the age of 82. It was the only pennant he won in 20 seasons as a Major League manager. But to him, a pennant was not the best way to evaluate a manager.
[SIZE=-1]"I don't think a manager should be judged by whether he wins the pennant," Tanner once said, "but by whether he gets the most out of the twenty-five men he's been given."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Words of wisdom, to be sure. And they could only come from a man who had been around the game of baseball for the better part of his life. Suffice it to say that this was certainly the case with Tanner.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Tanner spent parts of eight seasons in the Majors as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Angels. His career totals -- a .261 average, 21 home runs, and 105 RBIs -- but he did homer in his very first at-bat. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Needless to say, Tanner definitely had plenty of baseball smarts. He took over the Chicago White Sox at the age of 40 in 1970, but didn't hit his stride until he was hired to manage the Pirates in 1977. The Bucs finished in second place in each of his first two seasons, and then won it all in 1979.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]All told, Tanner won 1,352 games as a manager, which puts him in the same company as Hall of Famers like Wilbert Robinson and Ned Hanlon.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Not bad, not bad at all.[/SIZE]
Chuck Tanner: World Series Champion Manager Passes Away at 82
By Zachary D. Rymer
(Featured Columnist) on February 11, 2011
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won the National League pennant since 1979. That was the year the "We Are Family" team, spearheaded by the great Willie Stargell, defeated Earl Weaver's Baltimore Orioles in seven games to claim the World Series.
The manager of that team was Chuck Tanner, who passed away on Friday at the age of 82. It was the only pennant he won in 20 seasons as a Major League manager. But to him, a pennant was not the best way to evaluate a manager.
[SIZE=-1]"I don't think a manager should be judged by whether he wins the pennant," Tanner once said, "but by whether he gets the most out of the twenty-five men he's been given."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Words of wisdom, to be sure. And they could only come from a man who had been around the game of baseball for the better part of his life. Suffice it to say that this was certainly the case with Tanner.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Tanner spent parts of eight seasons in the Majors as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Angels. His career totals -- a .261 average, 21 home runs, and 105 RBIs -- but he did homer in his very first at-bat. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Needless to say, Tanner definitely had plenty of baseball smarts. He took over the Chicago White Sox at the age of 40 in 1970, but didn't hit his stride until he was hired to manage the Pirates in 1977. The Bucs finished in second place in each of his first two seasons, and then won it all in 1979.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]All told, Tanner won 1,352 games as a manager, which puts him in the same company as Hall of Famers like Wilbert Robinson and Ned Hanlon.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Not bad, not bad at all.[/SIZE]