The right man at the time or just being in the right place at the right time? That’s the question about our next Atlanta Braves World Series winning manager.
This is the second in a series of looks at the managers who guided Atlanta Braves franchise teams to World Series titles. In the first edition, we looked at George Stallings and his 1914 Boston Braves.
This time, we leave Boston … and for good reasons after a difficult run since the 1914 Miracle Braves shocked the baseball world.
We noted how bad their seasons had been in the decade prior, but that was nothing compared to the multiple decades afterward.
Between 1917 and 1945, the Boston Braves finished in…
- 6th place on seven occasions
- 7th place eleven times
- 8th place (last) four times
I suppose you could call it “encouraging” when they managed 4th and 5th place finishes five times between 1932 and 1938. But they never fared better than 4th over 29 long seasons.
But after the war, new life was breathed into the club with the arrival of pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. By 1948, Boston actually won the National League, but fell to the Cleveland Indians 4 games to 2 in the World Series.
Alas, mediocrity resumed as Boston fell back to 4th in each of the next three years, and then a dismal 7th in 1952.
It was well past time for a change.
Enter the Milwaukee Braves
After years of lagging attendance in Boston, the team became the first club to start the migration West… and armed with the right tools, the team responded.
Starting with their first season in Milwaukee, the Braves finished in either 2nd or 3rd place from 1953 through 1956.
1956 was a much more difficult season, though, and this highly talented club entered the Summer in 5th place. That didn’t sit well and manger Charlie Grimm was fired in June.
Grimm’s replacement was an interesting character who had been around baseball for a lot of years.
Fred Haney grew up in the sport as a utility infielder for Ty Cobb‘s Detroit Tigers teams in the early 1920’s. He also played for the Red Sox, Cubs, and Cardinals during a spotty 7-year career in which his best season happened to be his first.
Haney developed a reputation of being a hard-nosed player who always hustled and who was willing to do what it took to win… even if he crossed some lines in the process.
Here’s an example as told on the sabr.org site:
"On May 7, 1929, Haney was sold to the Los Angeles Angels of the PCL. He was an immediate sensation, hitting well, stealing bases and energizing the Angels. On September 16 Haney used some of his old football skills by throwing what was termed an illegal block into Hollywood shortstop Dud Lee to break up a double play. The umpire failed to call interference and the Angels rallied for three runs to help their victory."
Haney was involved in on-field fights, ejections, and even a riot that followed a minor league forfeit game… fire hoses had to be brought in to disperse the crowd that day.
All of that “color” in his character eventually got Haney into coaching and managing. From 1939-41, he ran the St. Louis Browns, though they finished in 8th, 6th, and 6th place in those years. He was replaced in 1941.
A dozen years later, Haney got a second team: the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. His influence didn’t help there either, as they finished dead last from 1953-55.
Still, he found his way onto the bench for the Milwaukee Braves for the 1956 season as a coach. While apparently noted for his driven approach to the game, Charlie Grimm was still in charge… and that’s why Grimm was let go in the midst of the 1956 season.
That gave Haney another shot… but this time with a team that could win.
The Turnaround Begins
It wasn’t quite a repeat of 1914, but it was close. On June 1st that year, the Braves were actually in first place. Just 2 weeks later, though, they had fallen to 5th… but just 3½ games back.
After elevating Haney to the manager’s post, the Braves broke out with a 68-40 record for the rest of the year… which came close to a pennant, but they fell just short of that as the Dodgers overtook Milwaukee during the season’s last week.
In today’s parlance, Haney’s “interim” tag had already been removed by this time, and he signalled that there would be changes coming in 1957. Quoting sabr.org again…
"There were reports that some Braves players spent too much time night-clubbing. In his farewell speech to the club after the last game, Haney said, “You had a good time, boys. Have a good time this winter. Because when we meet again next spring, you’re going to have the toughest so and so you’ve ever run into.” True to his promise, Haney worked the Braves exceptionally hard during spring training in 1957 and prophetically told the team, “You may hate me in the spring but you’ll love me in the fall when you pick up your World Series checks.”"
Now this was a loaded team coming into 1957. Henry Aaron. Eddie Mathews. Wes Covington. Joe Adcock. Frank Torre. Red Schoendienst was added mid-season.
On the pitching side, Johnny Sain was gone, but a 36-year-old Warren Spahn remained to anchor a staff that included Lew Burdette, Bob Buhl, closer Don McMahon and a reliever named Ernie Johnson.
In total, there were 4 future Hall of Famers led by Haney. And Haney was right on his pledge: after a 95-59 record, they won the National League going away… 8 games clear of the Cardinals and double-digits in front of everyone else.
Still, the World Series matched them up against the favored Yankees (98-56), but over 7 games, Haney’s team prevailed. The Braves had another World Series championship.
1958 was a “just missed” year for Milwaukee. It was another domination of the NL, but this time the Yankees were the team to win that 7th game and take the title away from the Braves.
Haney’s teams continued to do well, though they pulled back to a second-place finish in 1959.
This was his last season managing any major league team, though he moved to broadcasting in 1960.
From there, Haney was called upon to help bring an expansion team to life as a General Manager: the Los Angeles Angels, who later became the California Angels after moving down the road to Anaheim. Haney’s team didn’t play like an expansion club (see also: the 1962 New York Mets), and often had winning records while Haney was in charge.
Haney came into the world in 1896 via Albuquerque, New Mexico. He passed away in 1977 at the age of 81 in Beverly Hills.
While he managed a powerhouse Braves team, he nonetheless stands as the Braves manager with the best winning percentage since 1900 with a record of 341 and 231.
Haney stands with the 8th most victories while running the Braves, and to that point was the only manager to win more than one National League pennant.
So maybe it was the talent on the team that prevailed and maybe it was Haney’s gritty style of play. Either way, the combination was effective for 4 seasons in Milwaukee.