Lena Blackburne
From BR Bullpen
Russell Aubrey Blackburne (Slats)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.
- Debut April 14, 1910
- Final Game June 5, 1929
- Born October 23, 1886 in Clifton Heights, PA USA
- Died February 29, 1968 in Riverside, NJ USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Infielder Lena Blackburne began his pro career in 1908 and reached the majors with the 1910 Chicago White Sox. He missed the entire next season with a knee injury that plagued him for the rest of his career. An article in the March 18, 1911 New York Times indicates that manager Jimmy McAleer didn't want to waive him, feeling that he could play better than Blackburne had shown in 1910. The article says Blackburne (called "Russell Blackburn" in the article) had been bought for $8,000 from Providence.
After spending most of the next two years back in the minors, he returned to the White Sox in 1914 and 1915. Blackburne returned to the minors with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1916 and 1917 before earning cups of coffee in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies in 1918 and 1919.
Blackburne was back with the Maple Leafs in 1920, and replaced Larry Doyle as the club's skipper in 1921. After several more years in the minors as a player and as manager of the 1925 Little Rock Travelers, he returned to the majors as a coach for the White Sox in 1927. He replaced Ray Schalk as the team's manager in July 1928 and held the job for a season and a half. He was a St. Louis Browns coach in 1930 and was once again skipper of the Maple Leafs in 1932, when they were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. He joined Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics coaching staff in 1933 and remained with the team for more than a decade. He returned to the minors as a manager of the A's farm team, the Lancaster Red Roses, in 1944 and 1945 and then coached for the parent team again from 1946 to 1948. He later scouted for the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics from 1948 to 1955, briefly serving as interim manager of the Red Roses again in 1954.
After his playing career, Blackburne discovered a unique mud from the river beds in New Jersey near the Delaware River. This mud took the slippery sheen off baseballs. He marketed the mud and it has been rubbed on every baseball used in the major leagues since the 1950s. Since Blackburne died, the original mud pit has been developed, and a nearby secret location near the junction of the Delaware River and Rancocas Creek in New Jersey is the new home of the mud. Called "Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud", it sells for $25 a pound.
| Preceded by Ray Schalk | Chicago White Sox Manager 1928-1929 | Succeeded by Lew Fonseca |
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
[edit] Related Sites
- Blackburne Mud official site (includes account of rubbing mud's discovery)
- Blackburne bio with highlights from his career
