Walter Alston

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1952 Parkhurst
1952 Parkhurst



Walter Emmons Alston (Smokey)


Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1983

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[edit] Biographical Information

As a player, Walter Alston had only one plate appearance, striking out against pitcher Lon Warneke. However, for his achievements as a manager, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on March 10, 1983 by the Committee on Baseball Veterans.

Alston was a first baseman with the St Louis Cardinals in the 1936 season. He played in his only major league game on September 27, as a substitute for future Hall of Famer Johnny Mize, who had earlier been ejected from the game. Alston struck out in his only major league at bat.

Returning to the minor leagues, Alston led the Middle Atlantic League in home runs four times, RBI twice, and runs once. He had 35 HR in 1936, 28 HR in 1940 (his first season as player/manager), 25 HR, 102 RBI, & 88 runs in 1941, and 12 HR and 90 RBI in 1942.

Alston was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1954 season. He won seven National League pennants in his 23 years tenure as Dodgers manager. In 1955, he led Brooklyn to the pennant and its first World Series championship; the team repeated as National League champions in 1956. After the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, Alston led the team to pennants in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1974, and three more world championships (1959, 1963, 1965).

Named Manager of the Year six times, Alston also guided a victorious NL All-Star squad a record seven times. He retired after the 1976 season with 2,040 wins.

As a manager, Alston was noted for his studious approach to the game (he had taught school in the off-season while in the minors) and for signing 23 one-year contracts with the Dodgers at a time when multi-year contracts were becoming the norm in the sport. Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey and statistician Allan Roth would provide data to Alston for use in managing the team.

Walter Alston was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH and died in Oxford at the age of 72.

Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Walter Emmons Alston".

[edit] Notable Achievements

Preceded by
Chuck Dressen
Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Manager
1954-1976
Succeeded by
Tommy Lasorda

[edit] Year By Year Managerial Record

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs Notes
1940 Portsmouth Red Birds Middle Atlantic League St. Louis Cardinals replaced Dutch Dorman
1941 Springfield Cardinals Middle Atlantic League 69-57 4th St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1942 Springfield Cardinals Middle Atlantic League 59-71 5th St. Louis Cardinals
1944 Trenton Packers Interstate League 31-18 Brooklyn Dodgers replaced Joe Bird
1945 Trenton Spartans Interstate League 70-69 3rd Brooklyn Dodgers Lost in 1st round
1946 Nashua Dodgers New England League 80-41 1st Brooklyn Dodgers League Champs
1947 Pueblo Dodgers Western League 70-58 3rd Brooklyn Dodgers League Champs
1948 St. Paul Saints American Association 86-68 3rd Brooklyn Dodgers League Champs
1949 St. Paul Saints American Association 93-60 1st Brooklyn Dodgers Lost in 1st round
1950 Montreal Royals International League 86-67 2nd Brooklyn Dodgers Lost in 1st round
1951 Montreal Royals International League 95-59 1st Brooklyn Dodgers League Champs
1952 Montreal Royals International League 95-56 1st Brooklyn Dodgers Lost league finals
1953 Montreal Royals International League 89-63 2nd Brooklyn Dodgers League Champs
1954 Brooklyn Dodgers National League 92-62 2nd Brooklyn Dodgers
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers National League 98-55 1st Brooklyn Dodgers Won World Series
1956 Brooklyn Dodgers National League 93-61 1st Brooklyn Dodgers Lost World Series
1957 Brooklyn Dodgers National League 84-70 3rd Brooklyn Dodgers
1958 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 71-83 7th Los Angeles Dodgers
1959 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 88-68 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Won World Series
1960 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 82-72 4th Los Angeles Dodgers
1961 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 89-65 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1962 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 102-63 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1963 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 99-63 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Won World Series
1964 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 80-82 7th Los Angeles Dodgers
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 97-65 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Won World Series
1966 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 95-67 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Lost World Series
1967 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 73-89 8th Los Angeles Dodgers
1968 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 76-86 8th Los Angeles Dodgers
1969 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 85-77 4th Los Angeles Dodgers
1970 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 87-74 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1971 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 89-73 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1972 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 85-70 3rd Los Angeles Dodgers
1973 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 95-66 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 102-60 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Lost World Series
1975 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 88-74 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers
1976 Los Angeles Dodgers National League 90-68 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers replaced by Tommy Lasorda (2-2)

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