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 concept of platooning — using left-handed batters against right-handed pitchers and vice-versa — has its roots in Boston. In 1914, manager George Stallings led the “Miracle Braves” to a shocking 4-game sweep of the A's in the #WorldSeries: https://t.co/Q3KoKwPhYD #SABR pic.twitter.com/GGcphVppUT
— SABR (@sabr) October 25, 2018
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).