- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCharles Dillon Stengel
- Nicknames
- The Old Professor
- The Ol' Perfessor
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (The Old Perfessor) was not only one of the most successful managers in baseball history, he was one of the sport's most colorful characters as well. He played 14 years in the major leagues, but it is his managerial career that put him in the Hall of Fame.
After managing the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves during several of the two franchises' most hapless years, Casey was picked to helm the New York Yankees in 1949, after a successful stint as manager of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks. Under Stengel, the Yankees won the American League pennant every year from 1949 through 1960 except for two years: 1954 and 1959.
Despite winning ten pennants and seven World Series victories in twelve years as Yankees skipper, the team forced him out of the cat bird seat after the 1960 season, when the Yanks lost the World Series in seven games. He then became the manager of the new National League franchise in New York, the Mets, which proceeded to lose a record 120 games in their inaugural season in 1962, prompting Casey to ask rhetorically, "Can't anybody here play this game?" After having tasted such great success with the Bronx Bombers, Casey ended his professional baseball career losing over 100 games a year (average: 113) and finishing in last place in '62, '63 and '64. The team was also in last place and on pace for another 100+ loss season in 1965, when he retired after breaking his hip.
Famed for his colorful language, Casey was considered a national institution. You can look it up.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jon C. Hopwood
- SpouseEdna Lawton(August 18, 1924 - September 29, 1975) (his death)
- His remarkable showmanship
- Number 37 jersey
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1966. Played for the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers (1912-1917), Pittsburgh Pirates (1918-1919), Philadelphia Phillies (1920-1921), New York Giants (1921-1923), and Boston Braves (1924-1925). Manager of the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers (1934-1936), Boston Braves (1938-1943), and New York Mets (1962-1965); and of the American League's New York Yankees, 1949-1960.
- Interred at Forest Lawn (Glendale), Glendale, California, USA, in the Court of Freedom, at the far end opposite the Freedom Mausoleum.
- Retired from the Mets after suffering a fractured hip.
- Uniform number 37 retired by both the Yankees and Mets.
- Remained as a scout for the Mets after he retired.
- "My services were longer required." (answering to why the Yankees let him go after losing the 1960 World Series)
- "This is a team that has come along slowly fast. Gimme another pineapple juice and vodka." (after the 1969 World Series won by the Miracle Mets)
- "Can't anybody here play this game?" (while managing the Mets in 1962)
- "If I can't run out to the mound to take a pitcher out, I don't expect to complete my year of service with this ballclub." (explaining why he was retiring due to a fractured hip)
- You can look it up.
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