Herb Pennock - Post-playing Career

Post-playing Career

Pennock served as general manager of the Charlotte Hornets, a Red Sox' farm team of the Piedmont League. He returned to the Red Sox in 1936, serving as the first base and pitching coach under manager Joe Cronin. He served in this role through the 1938 season. In 1939, Pennock served as the Assistant Supervisor of Boston's minor league system, reporting to Evans. Pennock succeeded Evans as Director of Minor League Operations late in the 1940 season.

In December 1943, R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr., the new owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, hired Pennock as his general manager, after receiving a recommendation from Mack. Carpenter gave Pennock a lifetime contract. Pennock filled Carpenter's duties when the team's owner was drafted into service during World War II in 1944. As general manager, Pennock changed the team's name to the "Blue Jays", and invested $1 million into players who would become known as the "Whiz Kids", who won the National League pennant in 1950, including Curt Simmons and Willie Jones. He also created a "Grandstand Managers Club", the first in baseball history, allowing fans to give feedback to the team, and advocated for the repeal of the Bonus Rule. However, he opposed racial integration in baseball, and threatened to boycott a 1947 game between the Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers if Jackie Robinson, who the Dodgers signed to break the color barrier, played.

In 1948, at the age of 53, Pennock collapsed in the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Midtown Hospital. Pennock had been healthy, even inviting friends to join him at Madison Square Garden to attend a boxing match.