Phillies History: 9 of 55 Managers That Won World Series

1. George Stallings, 1914

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1897-98
• Years as Manager: 1897-98, 1901, 1909-10, 1913-20
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1914 (Boston Braves)

George Stallings was the ninth manager in Phillies history, and the first on this list to have started his managerial career with the Phillies.

While also a player, the Augusta, George, native managed the Phillies in parts of two seasons, before even the turn of the 20th century. Yet, in 180 combined games, he would not find much success, winning only 74 of them en route to a .416 winning percentage.

Stallings would take two years off from managing to finish his playing career, before taking over for the Detroit Tigers in 1901. While this team finished with a .548 winning percentage, he would again be without a job until 1909 and 1910, when with the New York Highlanders he posted a combined .528 winning percentage.

The highlight of Stallings’ managerial career came in his second of eight seasons managing the Boston Braves from 1913 to 1920.

Winning 94 games in 1914, Stallings would go on to secure the now-Phillies-rival Atlanta Braves’ first-ever World Series victory, coincidentally while sweeping the Philadelphia Athletics. In the process, the Athletics were denied their fourth World Series in five seasons, having previously won in 1910, 1911, and 1913.

Combined with the Braves, Stallings posted a 579-597-25 (.492) record spanning 1,201 games. In his last season, 1920, the Braves went just 62-90-1. Over his 13-year managerial career, he finished a tad under .500, going 879-898-35 (.495).

2. Pat Moran, 1919

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1915-18
• Years as Manager: 1915-23
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1919 (Cincinnati Reds)

Pat Moran was the 15th manager in Phillies history, and the second on this list to have started his managerial career with the Phillies.

In just his first season as Phillies skipper, Moran led the team its first-ever National League pennant and World Series appearance. The Phillies would lose 4 games to 1 against the Boston Red Sox, and would also lose the 1950 World Series (4-0 sweep against the New York Yankees) before finally winning it all in their third-ever appearance in 1980.

Moran would manage the Phillies three more seasons, but could not get the team back to the World Series. He would find first-season magic again with the Cincinnati Reds in 1919, replacing Christy Mathewson “when no word is received” from him while he was in France with the U.S. Army during World War I, the Reds note.

Finally, he was able to win it all. The Reds’ 5 games to 3 World Series victory over the Chicago White Sox in 1919, amid the infamous Black Sox scandal, was their first in franchise history.

As Phillies skipper, Moran posted a combined 323-257-6 (.557) record over 586 games. With the Reds, however, he had a .564 winning percentage spanning 757 games, 425-329-3.

In addition to managing the Phillies from 1915 to 1918, Moran also played for them as catcher from 1910 to 1912, as well as 1914. He also played for the National League’s Boston Beaneaters (1901-05) and Chicago Cubs (1906-09).

3. Bucky Harris, 1924, 1947

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1943
• Years as Manager: 1924-28 (Player/Manager), 1929 (Player/Manager), 1930, 1931 (Player/Manager), 1932-43, 1947-48, 1950-56
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1924 (Player/Manager, Washington Senators), 1947 (New York Yankees)

Bucky Harris was the 26th manager in Phillies history, the first and only on this nine-manager list to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the first on this list to have managed the Phillies after winning a World Series. Also, Harris is the first of two on this list with multiple World Series championships overall.

Not only did Harris play 12 seasons in his career, but he also managed for 29 — albeit just one season with the Phillies (1943). Despite managing 4,410 games with five different organizations, Harris failed to post a .500 or better winning percentage, although he still earned Hall of Fame honors after tallying two World Series championships and three pennants.

In 1947, Harris managed Yankees greats Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra, among others. That Yankees team would win the organizations’ 11th-ever championship that year, edging Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers 4 games to 3. While denied of a World Series championship in 1947, Robinson would make three more World Series appearances with the Dodgers (1949, 1952, 1953)  before finally winning it all in 1955. Robinson and the Dodgers would lose again in 1956. Each of the six World Series Robinson ever appeared in came against the potent Yankees.

Harris also managed the 1948 American League All-Star team, which featured greats DiMaggio and Ted Williams, among others.

Harris won just 39 of his 94 games as Phillies skipper. He would be replaced mid-season by Freddie Fitzsimmons, who also struggled with a 25-37-1 record.

4. Steve O’Neill, 1945

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1952-54
• Years as Manager: 1935-37, 1943-48, 1950-54
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1945 (Detroit Tigers)

Steve O’Neill was the 31st manager in Phillies history, and the second on this list to have managed the Phillies after winning a World Series, joining Hall of Famer Bucky Harris and Joe Girardi (come Opening Day 2020).

The Phillies were the last of O’Neill’s four stops as manager, having previously managed the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox. He won it all with the Tigers in 1945, topping the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 3 for their second-ever World Series victory.

The Minooka, Pennsylvania, native O’Neill managed the Phillies to a 182-140-2 (.565) record in parts of three seasons. He also managed the 1946 American League All-Star team, which featured Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Feller, among others.

With the Phillies, O’Neill replaced fired manager Eddie Sawyer, who led the “Whiz Kids” to a 1950 National League Pennant. After going 28-35 under Sawyer to start the 1952 season, Phillies’ fortunes turned around, going 59-32 under O’Neill to finish out the year.

While never playing for the Phillies as a player, O’Neill did log 34 games in 1925 with the Double-A Reading Keystones; he hit .266 with five doubles, one home run and 25 hits overall spanning 94 at-bats. He won the 1920 World Series with the Cleveland Indians, 25 years before he would manage the Tigers to a World Series victory.

O’Neill was the brother of three other major-leaguers: Jack O’Neill, Jim O’Neill and Mike O’Neill.

5. Mayo Smith, 1968

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1955-58
• Years as Manager: 1955-59, 1967-70
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1968 (Detroit Tigers)

Mayo Smith was the 32nd manager in Phillies history, succeeding right after the No. 4 manager on this list, Steve O’Neill. Smith is the third on this list to have started his managerial career with the Phillies.

In 548 games as Phillies skipper, Smith managed the team in apprise of four seasons to just a 264-282-2 (.484) record. With the Cincinnati Reds in 1949, he posted a 35-45 record, before being replaced.

The third time was the charm for Smith, when in his second season as the manager of the Detroit Tigers, 1968, his team topped the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3. While O’Neill helped the Tigers to their second-ever championship, Smith helped them to their third-ever. The Tigers have won just once since (1984).

Smith also managed the 1969 American League All-Stars, which featured greats Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski, among others. As a player, Smith was among those on the 1945 Philadelphia Athletics roster as an outfielder. In 73 games, he slashed just .212/.333/.236 with five doubles, no triples, no home runs, 11 RBI, 36 walks and 13 strikeouts spanning 203 at-bats and 244 plate appearances.

Smith’s name has been recently remembered in the Tigers organization, as he is the namesake of the “Mayo Smith Society.” The Society remembers the Tigers’ 1968 World Series-winning manager and acts as a fan club for Tigers fans around the world. Its annual “King Tiger Award,” given to players for their contributions on and off the field, has been given to J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and former Phillie Placido Polanco, among others.

6. Dallas Green, 1980

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1979-81
• Years as Manager: 1979-81, 1989, 1993-96
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 1980 (Philadelphia Phillies)

Dallas Green was the 40th manager in Phillies history, and the first of two on the list to have won the World Series while with the team. Green is the fourth on this list to have started his managerial career with the Phillies.

Green, Bucky Harris, and soon Joe Girardi will be the only three to have managed both the Phillies and New York Yankees, notes Bob Vetrone Jr.

Midseason in 1979, Green replaced Danny Ozark, who posted a 65-67 record. He would finish the year with a 19-11 record, before ultimately leading the 1980 Phillies — led by Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Pete Rose, Bob Boone, Garry Maddox, Larry Bowa, Steve Carlton, and others — to the organization’s first-ever World Series championship.

Green posted a combined 169-130 (.565) record in the 299 games he managed the Phillies. After his last season in 1981, he wouldn’t manage again until 1989 with the New York Yankees (56-65, .463). A few years later, he would manage the New York Mets to a combined 229-283 (.447) record over parts of four seasons, from 1993 to 1996.

Green passed away in the city he won it all on March 22, 2017. He was 82 years old.

On the day he passed, Bowa told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark, “We don’t win the World Series in 1980 without Dallas Green. He will never be forgotten in Philadelphia.”

7. Terry Francona, 2004, 2007

• Years as Phillies Manager: 1997-2000
• Years as Manager: 1997-2000, 2004-11, 2013-Present
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 2004 (Boston Red Sox), 2007 (Boston Red Sox)

Terry Francona was the 48th manager in Phillies history, and the fifth on this list to have started his managerial career with the Phillies. Also, Francona is the second of two on this list with multiple World Series championships overall.

The Phillies parted ways with Francona on October 1, 2000, after he finished four consecutive seasons with a losing record, starting with 1997.

The Phillies finished in third and fifth place in the National League East twice each under Francona, including last place in his final season. He would be replaced by 1980 World Series champion and then-bench coach Larry Bowa.

Francona had just a 285-363 (.440) record with the Phillies before he went onto a successful, eight-year managerial stint with the Boston Red Sox. In his first season with the Red Sox, 2004, he led them to their sixth-ever World Series victory, and their first since 1918 to “reverse the curse.”

The Red Sox would win just three years later under Francona. In both the 2004 and 2007 series, the Red Sox swept their opponents.

Under the Cleveland Indians, Francona has since won the 2013 and 2016 American League Manager of the Year honors. He led the Indians to an American League pennant in 2016, their first since 1997. In both years, the Indians lost the World Series 4 games to 3. He will return for an eighth season with the Indians in 2020.

Overall, in 19 managerial seasons, Francona has posted a combined 1,667-1,409 (.542) record.

8. Charlie Manuel, 2008

• Years as Phillies Manager: 2005-13
• Years as Manager: 2000-2002, 2005-13
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 2008 (Philadelphia Phillies)

Charlie Manuel was the 51st manager in Phillies history, and in 2008 joined Dallas Green as the only two managers to ever win a World Series championship in a Phillies uniform.

Manuel took a Phillies team that had not made the playoffs since 1993, to a perennial contender. The Phillies won five consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2011, and won back-to-back National League pennants for the first time in franchise history in 2008 and 2009.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury describes what Manuel went through around the time he helped lead the Phillies to just their second-ever World Series victory:

October 2008 was the high point of Manuel’s career, but it came amidst personal grief. Five days before the Phillies won the NLCS in Dodger Stadium, Manuel’s mother, June, died at the age of 87 back in the family’s hometown of Buena Vista, Virginia. Manuel spoke to his mother daily before her passing and she wanted him to stay with his team. He celebrated the Phillies’ punching their ticket to the World Series and the next day flew to Virginia for his mother’s funeral. Phillies players adored Manuel because he never complicated things, never got in the way and always had their back. There was a sense of “Let’s win this for Chuck,” throughout that postseason and it shined brightly in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.

In eight-plus seasons as Phillies skipper, Manuel posted a combined 780-636 (.551) record. His 220 wins over 410 games managing the Cleveland Indians from 2000 to 2002 gives him 1,000 all-time managerial victories.

He is just one of 64 managers all-time to reach 1,000 wins, and, while leading the Phillies to a franchise-best 102 wins in 2011, he began its all-time winningest manager.

Since being replaced by Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg as Phillies skipper, Manuel continues to serve many roles in the organization, including special assistant to the general manager, and, most recently, hitting coach in 2019. He will return to a front office role for the 2020 season.

9. Joe Girardi, 2009

• Years as Phillies Manager: 2020-Present
• Years as Manager: 2006, 2008-17, 2020-Present
• Year(s) Winning the World Series (Team): 2009 (New York Yankees)

Joe Girardi is the 55th manager in Phillies history, and the third on this list that will have managed the Phillies after winning a World Series.

Also, the newest Phillies skipper is just the second in baseball history that will have managed a team in which he defeated in the World Series. Girardi will join Johnny Keane, who managed the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals before joining the Yankees the year after beating them in the World Series. Coincidentally, Girardi topped the Phillies, led by No. 8 manager on this list Charlie Manuel, while with the Yankees in the 2009 Fall Classic.

Girardi had a 15-season playing career from 1989 to 2003, all the while laying catcher and a few games as the designated hitter. As ESPN Stats & Info notes, that while managing the New York Yankees 10 seasons from 2008 to 2017, he never finished a season below .500.

The last time the Phillies finished .500 or better was under Manuel in 2011.

After back-to-back disappointing finishes under Gabe Kapler, Phillies fans have “high hopes” once again for 2020, their first under Girardi and second with All-Star caliber players such as Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, Aaron Nola, and others.

The nine managers on this last have made unique impacts and contributions to their respective organizations and Major League Baseball as a whole.

Girardi’s legacy is already filled with success, but, if he somehow wins at the helm of the Phillies as well, it will only be that much better.