Chuck Dressen
From BR Bullpen
Charles Walter Dressen
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5'5" Weight 146 lb.
- Debut April 17, 1925
- Final Game October 1, 1933
- Born September 20, 1898 in Decatur, IL USA
- Died August 10, 1966 in Detroit, MI USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Chuck Dressen played both major league baseball and professional football, and also was a manager for 16 years, twice winning the National League pennant.
He was also known as "Charlie Dressen".
Dressen played as a quarterback for George Halas in the American Professional Football Association, prior to its name-change to the NFL, and then played a couple more seasons in the NFL. Moving to professional baseball, he had a couple successful years with the St. Paul Saints.
He played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1925 to 1931 and was the team's regular third baseman for four seasons. He ended his career with a 16 game stint with the 1933 New York Giants. The following year, he took over as manager of the Reds, and he led the club for part of four seasons, with a best finish of fifth in 1936. He was then a Brooklyn Dodgers coach from 1939 to 1946 and a member of the New York Yankees staff in 1947 and 1948.
Dressen took over as Dodgers skipper in 1951, finishing in a tie for first with the New York Giants that year. He was the one who chose to use Ralph Branca in relief of Carl Erskine in the third game of the 1951 playoffs, with the result being Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World. After leading the club to the World Series in 1952 and 1953 - but losing both times to the Yankees, he demanded a three-year contract from team principals Walter O'Malley and Buzzie Bavasi. Instead, owner O'Malley fired him and replaced him with Walter Alston, a man who would go on to manage the club for more than two decades, always on a one-year contract. Dressen moved on first to manage the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks for one year, and then the Washington Senators for a little more than two seasons (1955-1957) before reconciling with the Dodgers, serving on Alston's coaching staff in Los Angeles in 1958 and 1959.
Dressen took over as manager of the Milwaukee Braves in 1960 and led the club to a second place finish that year but was replaced by Birdie Tebbetts the following season. He became the Detroit Tigers skipper in 1963. He missed the beginning of the 1965 season after having a heart attack but was back in the dugout by May. On May 16, 1966, he suffered another one and was replaced by Bob Swift. Dressen died three months later at age 67 (amazingly, Swift died just 2 months later).
In The Boys of Summer, he told writer Roger Kahn that he had never read a single book in his life. He may not have been book-smart, but he was a baseball lifer with tremendous knowledge of the game, behind his gruff exterior and his liberal use of cursing.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1933 (he did not play in the World Series)
- NL Pennants: 2 (1952 & 1953)
- 100 Wins Seasons as a Manager: 1 (1953)
| Preceded by Bob O'Farrell | Cincinnati Reds Manager 1934-1937 | Succeeded by Bobby Wallace |
| Preceded by Burt Shotton | Brooklyn Dodgers Manager 1951-1953 | Succeeded by Walter Alston |
| Preceded by Bucky Harris | Washington Senators Manager 1955-1957 | Succeeded by Cookie Lavagetto |
| Preceded by Fred Haney | Milwaukee Braves Manager 1960-1961 | Succeeded by Birdie Tebbetts |
| Preceded by Bob Scheffing | Detroit Tigers Manager 1963-1964 | Succeeded by Bob Swift |
| Preceded by Bob Swift | Detroit Tigers Manager 1965-1966 | Succeeded by Bob Swift |
