The "Ee-Yah" Years: 1907-1920
In 1907, Jennings was hired as manager of a talented Detroit Tigers team that included future Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford. Jennings led the Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants, in 1907-08-09. However, Jennings' teams lost the 1907, 1908, and 1909 World Series to the "Tinker to Evers to Chance" Chicago Cubs and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates. Jennings continued to manage the Tigers through the 1920 season, though his team never won another pennant.
During his years as Detroit’s manager, Jennings became famous for his antics, mostly in the third base coaching box, which variously included shouts of “Ee-Yah,” and other whoops, whistles, horns, gyrations, jigs, and grass-plucking. The "Ee-Yah" whoop became his trademark and was accompanied with waves of both arms over his head and a sharp raising of his right knee. In 1907, he was suspended for taunting opponents with a tin whistle. The "Ee-Yah" shouts continued and became such a trademark that Jennings became known as Hughie "Ee-Yah" Jennings, and Detroit fans would shout "Ee-Yah" when Jennings would appear on the field. (See also Jack Smile, Ee-yah: The Life And Times Of Hughie Jennings, Baseball Hall Of Famer)
Behind the antics was a great coaching mind. Connie Mack called Jennings one of the three greatest managers in history, along with John McGraw and Joe McCarthy. One of his greatest challenges, and accomplishments, during his years in Detroit was to manage the unmanageable -- Ty Cobb. Jennings recognized Cobb’s talent and his complicated psychological makeup and concluded the best strategy would be to let Cobb be Cobb. Jennings reportedly called Cobb aside one day and said: “There isn’t anything about baseball I can teach you. Anything I might say to you would merely hinder you in your development. The only thing for you to do is go ahead and do as you please. Use your own judgment.. . . . . Do what you think is best and I’ll back you up.”
In 1912, during a game in which "pick-ups" played for the Tigers when the regular team went on strike to protest the suspension of Cobb after an incident involving a fan in the stands whom Cobb assaulted, Jennings, who also sent his coaches in as substitute players, came to bat himself once as a pinch hitter. According to one source, when the umpire asked him for whom he was batting, Jennings answered, "None of your business." The umpire noted on his lineup sheet, "Jennings--batted for exercise."
While Jennings was fiery, hard-nosed, colorful, and even eccentric, he insisted he had always played the game honestly. When a scandal arose in 1926 concerning whether Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker had fixed a 1919 game between Detroit and Cleveland while Jennings was the manager, Jennings initially spoke of how easy it would be to fix a game and issued a "no comment" on the specific game. After his "no comment" drew negative publicity, Jennings issued a statement to the press in December 1926 denying knowledge of the matter and adding: "My slate has been clean base ball for 35 years... Whatever I have done in base ball has been of such a nature that I would be ready any time to go before anyone and place my case before them." After the 1920 season, Jennings stepped down as the Tigers’ manager. His 1,131 wins remained the most in Tigers history until Sparky Anderson passed him.
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