Casey Stengel

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (The Old Perfessor) was not only one of the most successful managers in baseball history, he was one of the sport's most colorful characters as well. He played 14 years in the major leagues, but it is his managerial career that put him in the Hall of Fame. After managing the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves during several of the two franchises' most hapless years, Casey was picked to helm the New York Yankees in 1949, after a successful stint as manager of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks. Under Stengel, the Yankees won the American League pennant every year from 1949 through 1960 except for two years: 1954 and 1959. Despite winning ten pennants and seven World Series victories in twelve years as Yankees skipper, the team forced him out of the cat bird seat after the 1960 season, when the Yanks lost the World Series in seven games. He then became the manager of the new National League franchise in New York, the Mets, which proceeded to lose a record 120 games in their inaugural season in 1962, prompting Casey to ask rhetorically, "Can't anybody here play this game?" After having tasted such great success with the Bronx Bombers, Casey ended his professional baseball career losing over 100 games a year (average: 113) and finishing in last place in '62, '63 and '64. The team was also in last place and on pace for another 100+ loss season in 1965, when he retired after breaking his hip. Famed for his colorful language, Casey was considered a national institution. You can look it up.