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Phillies History: 9 of 55 Managers That Won World Series

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 21: Dallas Greene shakes hands with manager Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the NLCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 21: Dallas Greene shakes hands with manager Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the NLCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /
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4. Steve O’Neill, 1945

Former Phillies manager Steve O'Neill.
Shown at Briggs stadium just before the opening of the first game of the World Series today are, rival managers, Steve O’Neill (left) of the Detroit Tigers, and Charley Grimm, of the Chicago Cubs. /
  • 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.

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