Bucky Harris - Biography

Biography

Harris was born in Port Jervis, New York and raised mostly in Pittston, Pennsylvania. He was discovered by baseball promoter Joe Engel, who led the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium. In 1919, at the age of 22, he came up to the Washington Senators but was unimpressive at first, batting a meager .214 and getting into only eight games that first season. Despite this poor showing, owner Clark Griffith made him Washington's regular second baseman in 1920, and before long Harris was batting .300 and making a mark for himself as a tough competitor, standing up to even ferocious superstar Ty Cobb, who threatened Harris when he tagged Cobb in their first encounter.

Harris spent most of his playing career as a second baseman with the Washington Senators (1919–28). One of baseball's "boy managers", he both played for and managed the Senators starting in 1924. At the age of 27, he became the youngest major league manager while continuing at second base. He led the team to a World Series championship as a rookie manager and the AL pennant the following year, losing the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh in the late innings of Game 7 after leading 3-1 in the Series. Baseball historian William C. Kashatus wrote of his dominant play in the 1924 World Series: "Not only did he set records for chances accepted, double plays and put-outs in the exciting seven-game affair, but he batted .333 and hit two home runs".

His initial departure from the Senators in 1928 (he would twice return to manage them again from 1935 to 1942 and 1950 to 1954) came as a trade to the Detroit Tigers as player-manager. His playing career essentially ended in 1928 except for a few cameo appearances with the Tigers in 1929 & 1931. He managed the Tigers twice (1929–33, 1955–56), Boston Red Sox (1934), Philadelphia Phillies (briefly known as the Blue Jays, 1943) and the 1947 World Champion New York Yankees, staying on in 1948, when they finished a close third to Cleveland and Boston. He closed his 29-year managing career with the 1956 Tigers,, rejoined the Red Sox as assistant general manager in 1957–58 and succeeded Joe Cronin as Boston's GM in January 1959, serving two seasons in that post before being let go in September 1960. On his watch, the Bosox finally broke their own baseball color line by promoting Pumpsie Green from Triple-A on July 21, 1959, the next-to-last MLB team to do so except for the Tigers (in 1961), more than twelve years after Jackie Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He ended his long MLB career as a scout for the Chicago White Sox and special assistant for the new expansion Washington Senator franchise that played in D.C. from 1961 to 1971 before moving on to Arlington, Texas.

He died in Bethesda, Maryland, on his 81st birthday, and was buried at St. Peter's Lutheran Church (in Hughestown, Pennsylvania).

During his 29-season managerial career, Harris presided over two world championships and three pennants. He is sixth in MLB manager career wins with 2,157 wins to his name.

He was mentioned in one of Abbott & Costello's renowned Who's on First? segments.

Parents: Thomas Harris, born c. 1867 in England or Wales, and Catherine (Rupp) Harris, born in Hughestown, Pennsylvania; brother: Merle Harris, born somewhere in Pennsylvania.