Walter Alston

Walter Alston (1911-1984), American baseball manager, who won seven National League (NL) pennants and four World Series titles during his 23 years with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. When he retired in 1976, he had served longer with a single team than any major league manager except Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics and John McGraw of the New York Giants.

Born in Venice, Ohio, Alston had a fireball delivery as a youthful pitcher that earned him the nickname Smokey. After a distinguished baseball and basketball career at Miami University in Ohio, he had a very brief major league career as a player with the St. Louis Cardinals: one strikeout in one at bat and one fielding error in 1936. When he was hired by Walter O’Malley to manage the Dodgers in November 1953, Alston was virtually unknown. During Alston’s first years as manager the Dodgers finished second in the NL in 1954, then won the pennant and their first World Series championship the following season. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, and under Alston’s management won the World Series again in 1959, 1963, and 1965.

Despite his success, Alston never signed a contract for longer than one year with the Dodgers. Though he was criticized for his conservative managing style, he helped pioneer the offensive game built around aggressive baserunning, bunts, and hit-and-run plays. Known for his quiet coaching style mixed with a strong temper, Alston was respected, and sometimes feared, by his players. After retiring near the end of the 1976 season, he returned to Ohio. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.