Life After Baseball
In 1950, Tigers’ owner, Walter Briggs asked Gehringer to be the Tigers’ general manager, and he agreed to do so. Gehringer later said that the job was a “nightmare.” As he put it: “We had a lousy ball club, and I'd been away from baseball at that time for ten years. I didn't know who was and who wasn't.” After serving as the Tigers’ general manager from 1951 to 1953, Gehringer was given the title of Tigers vice president in the mid-1950s. He went back to his business selling fabric to the automobile companies, continuing with the company until 1974 when he sold his interest in the business.
Gehringer also served as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Committee on Veterans from 1953 to 1990.
At a 1983 ceremony in Tiger Stadium, the Tigers retired uniform numbers 2 and 5 worn for many years by teammates Gehringer and Hank Greenberg. Both players attended the ceremony.
At age 82, Gehringer served as the American League honorary captain at the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
Gehringer died in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, at age 89.
In 1999, he ranked Number 46 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Also in 1999, Sports Illustrated published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Gehringer third on the list behind Joe Louis and Magic Johnson. "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan," Sports Illustrated, December 27, 1999.
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