Leo Durocher

Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (/dəˈroʊ.ʃər/; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,008 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks twelfth in career wins by a manager. A controversial and outspoken character, Durocher's half-century in baseball was dogged by clashes with authority, the baseball commissioner, the press, and umpires; his 100 career ejections as a manager trailed only McGraw when he retired, and he still ranks third on the all-time list. He won three National League pennants and one world championship. In 25 years as a manager, Durocher had only 4 losing seasons.

Durocher was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Leo Ernest Durocher was born on July 27, 1905, in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the youngest of four sons born to French Canadian parents. His mother was a hotel maid and his father was a railroad engineer. His parents were immigrants from Quebec and both they and Durocher's older brothers spoke only French; Durocher began attending elementary school without knowing how to speak English.

The Durochers lived only two blocks from Rabbit Maranville, who taught Durocher the game of baseball and gave him a glove. Durocher became a good athlete while in high school, and was offered a scholarship to Holy Cross, but was suspended from school after he hit a teacher, and never returned. Durocher became a prominent semi-professional athlete, with several Springfield-area employers competing to have him play on their company teams.

After being scouted by the New York Yankees, Durocher broke into professional baseball with the Hartford Senators of the Eastern League in 1925.

Durocher was called up to the Yankees and played in two games. Durocher spent two more seasons in the minors, playing for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in 1926 and St. Paul Saints of the American Association in 1927.

Durocher rejoined the Yankees in 1928. A regular player, he was nicknamed "The All-American Out" by Babe Ruth. Durocher was a favorite of Yankee manager Miller Huggins, who considered Durocher a potential managerial candidate due to his competitiveness, passion, ego, and facility for remembering situations. Durocher's outspokenness did not endear him to Yankee ownership, however, and his habit of passing bad checks to finance his expensive tastes in clothes and nightlife annoyed Yankee general manager Ed Barrow.

Durocher helped the team win their second consecutive World Series title in 1928, then demanded a raise.