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 The “Old Perfessor,” Casey Stengel Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

Talk About Obscure!

Casey Sengel’s 1939 Boston Bees!

“Casey Stengel was not only the most successful manager of the 1950s, he was the most dominant manager of any single decade in baseball history.” -Historian Bill James, speaking of Casey Sengel’s tenure with the Yankees.

Casey’s Career With the Yankees

We’re all aware of the remarkable success Casey had with the Bronx Bombers from 1949-1960, possibly the most successful run in major league history for any manager.  The “Old Perfessor” posted an 1149-696 record (.623), winning ten pennants, and seven World Series championships, including a record five consecutive championships from 1949–1953. In World Series play, all with the Yankees, he went 37-26 (.587), with his 37 World Series wins ranking first all-time. 

Hidden behind the veneer of a clown was a sharp, innovative tactician and master motivator. With his unorthodox managing style, he was well ahead of the times.

Unlike many of today’s managers who rigidly obey the dictates of the analytic nerds, Casey followed no “book.” He learned to trust his baseball instincts, honed over more than a half-century in the game. 

Connie Mack once said of him:

“I never saw a man who juggled his lineup so much and who played so many hunches so successfully.”

And this comment from Bill Veeck in 1966, soon after Casey’s retirement:

“He was never necessarily the greatest of managers, but any time he had a ball club that had a chance to win, he’d win.”

Casey’s Earlier Managerial Career…Not So Good!

Not as well known is that Casey’s earlier career as a manager wasn’t always so successful. As a matter of fact, it was downright dismal. Few baseball fans remember his record before he got to New York – and with good reason! He managed some really miserable teams in the National League, compiling a less-than-stellar 581-741 record (.439) over nine seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Bees (Braves). Over these nine seasons, he finished 5th twice, 6th twice, and 7th five times. Sort of makes you wonder what Yankee General Manager George Weiss was thinking when he hired Casey in October of 1948!

I Love Trying Too Identify the Obscure Guys!

In the featured photo above, we see Casey with his 1939 Boston Bees that went 63-88 (.417), good for seventh place in the eight-team National League. Below that is a beautiful colorization of the ’39 Bees by our resident baseball artist, Don Stokes, one of his best efforts. That team and those players are about as obscure as you can get. That photo arrived in my inbox one day from Mark Stang, the editor of the SABR Leslie Jones Boston Public Libray project,  tasking me with the thankless job of identifying those guys. It took me a long time but, believe it or not, I finally came up with all the names!

(By the way, check out this pic of Casey from early in his career with Brooklyn. It’s

living proof that Casey was not born old!) 

Let’s face it. The big stars are always easy to identify. But I have to admit I get a certain amount of satisfaction whenever I can correctly place a “name with the face” of a lesser-known player from a by-gone era. As I shine the baseball spotlight on him for a brief moment or two, I like to think I’m rescuing him from the obscurity that eventually descends upon many players over the passage of time. Those guys made it to the majors…so they’ll always be special in our eyes. 

Take a gander at the featured photo and see if you can name any of them. I sure couldn’t when I started on it. But before you look at the names below, there is one player in the photo who was later slated to play a very prominent role in Yankee history. 

Jim Turner

That player is Jim Turner, the player on the far left.  Over his nine-year playing career (1937-1945), Jim posted an unremarkable 69-60 record with a 3.22 ERA. But it was later as a pitching coach that Turner left his mark on the game.

Jim Turner became Casey’s highly successful pitching coach with the Yankees from

1949-1959. He returned to the Yankees from 1966-1973. Jim also coached for the Reds from 1961-1965. His 24-year major league coaching career produced a remarkable ten pennants and eight World Series championships, making him one of the most successful pitching coaches in the history of the game.

Granted he had a lot of talent to work with, but so did many others who were not as successful. We’ve often suggested that there should be spots for coaches in the Hall of Fame, and Jim Turner would certainly be a good first choice. 

Casey’s 1939 Boston Bees

Here’s the complete identifications of the 1939 Boston Braves, one of the more obscure teams in baseball history. See if any names ring a bell:

L-R: Boston Bees Jim Turner, Ralph Hodgin, Stan Andrews, Eddie Miller, Buddy Hassett, Phil Masi, Tom Earley, Jimmy Outlaw, Fred Frankhouse, Joe Sullivan, Red Barkley, Bill Weir, Art Doll, and manager Casey Stengel sitting along on the third base wall at Braves Field, 1939.

I can’t do a write-up on Casey without a few choice Stengelisms. To start off, here’s one of my favorites: 

“I came in here and a fella asked me to have a drink. I said I don’t drink. Then another fella said ‘I hear you and Joe DiMaggio aren’t speaking.’ And I said, ‘I’ll take that drink!’ “

And a few more:

• “I’ll never make the mistake of being 70 again!”
• “Sure I played, did you think I was born at the age of 70 sitting in a dugout trying to manage guys like you?”
• “Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It’s staying up all   night looking for a woman that does him in.”
• “They say Yogi Berra is funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays golf with millionaires. What’s funny about that?”
• “They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes   don’t win many ball games.”
• “The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed.”
• “It’s wonderful to meet so many friends that I didn’t used to like.”
• “The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” 

So again, I ask, what was George Weiss thinking when he handpicked a baseball lifer with little managerial success and elevated him to the plum job of Yankee skipper? Maybe you can come up with an answer!

Gary Livacari 

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