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Leo Durocher

Leaves Baseball Temporarily



Disagreements with the team's owner, Horace Stoneham, led Durocher to resign as Giants manager at the end of the 1955 season. He spent several years as a color announcer for NBC's Game of the Week and also appeared in episodes of television series such as Mister Ed and The Beverly Hillbillies. (In the 1940s, he had often appeared on radio with the likes of Jack Benny and Milton Berle.) Durocher was divorced from Laraine Day in 1960. He had attained celebrity status and was known as a charming and dapper man off the field. He was proud of his friendships with entertainers such as Danny Kaye and Frank Sinatra.



Durocher was back in baseball as third base coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1961 to 1964. He often questioned the moves of Dodger manager Walter Alston, sometimes publicly, leading to controversy.

Chronology

1905 Born July 25 in West Springfield, Massachusetts
1925 Signed by Hartford of Eastern League
1925 New York Yankees purchase Durocher's contract and is called up by Yankees at end of season. Gets into two games and bats once
1926 Optioned to Atlanta in Southern League
1927 Promoted to St. Paul of American Association
1928-29 Plays shortstop and second base for Yankees
1930 Sold to Cincinnati Reds for waiver price
1933 Traded to St. Louis Cardinals
1937 Traded to Brooklyn Dodgers
1938 Named Dodgers player-manager
1947 Marries motion picture actress Laraine Day
1947 Is suspended by baseball commissioner Chandler for entire season for "an accumulation of unpleasant incidents" (which are not specified) considered detrimental to baseball
1948 Returns as manager of Dodgers
1948 Obtains release from Brooklyn and replaces Mel Ott as manager of New York Giants
1955 Resigns as manager of Giants
1956-60 Works as announcer for NBC's "Game of the Week"
1961-64 Third base coach for Los Angeles Dodgers
1966 Named manager of Chicago Cubs
1972 Steps down as Cubs manager
1972 Named manager of Houston Astros
1973 Quits as Astros manager at end of season
1991 Dies October 7 in Palm Springs, California

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBaseballLeo Durocher Biography - Hardscrabble Childhood, Early Career, Captain Of Gashouse Gang, Becomes Player-manager, Creates Controversy - SELECTED WRITINGS BY DUROCHER: