Frank Lucchesi obit

Beloved ex-Rangers skipper Lucchesi dies

Manager guided both clubs in 1970s and had impressive Minor League resume

 

 He was not on the list.

ARLINGTON -- Frank Lucchesi, who managed the Phillies, Rangers and Cubs and had an impressive Minor League managerial record, died on Saturday at his home in Colleyville, Texas. He was 92 and highly regarded in both the Philadelphia and Texas baseball communities.

“Frank was No. 1, first and foremost a man who admired and loved his family,” former Rangers outfielder Tom Grieve said. “He was a baseball man through and through. He spent his whole life in baseball and always displayed a passion and a love for the game. As a manager, he loved his players and wanted them to succeed. He was the only manager who gave me a chance to play every day, so I have a very special feeling for him.”

Lucchesi was a native of San Francisco and part of that city’s proud Italian baseball heritage. He was the son of Italian immigrants; his father died just after he was born. He went to Galileo High School, the same school attended by Joe and Dom DiMaggio, Hall of Fame infielder Tony Lazzeri and former American League president Dr. Bobby Brown.

He and Brown were teammates but Lucchesi, a 5-foot-8 outfielder, never made it to the Major Leagues. He spent 13 years playing in the Minor Leagues and another 23 as a manager, according to baseball-reference.com.

During his time in the Minors, Lucchesi’s teams won six pennants and he was named Manager of the Year five times. Most of that time was spent in the Phillies organization. Pitchers Chris Short and Ferguson Jenkins and infielders Dick Allen and Larry Bowa were among the players who flourished under Lucchesi’s guidance. Lucchesi and Allen maintained a warm relationship for many years afterward.

“Frank managed me in the Minor Leagues and my first year in the big leagues," Bowa said in a statement. "He gave me the confidence I needed in my rookie year, especially when I was struggling. Without Frank as my manager, I wouldn’t have had a Major League career.”

Lucchesi was once thrown out of a game with the Arkansas Travelers in 1963. He tried to secretly climb a light tower to watch the game, but was discovered by the umpires. The stunt made national news.

Lucchesi was named manager of the Phillies for the 1970 season at a time the organization was beginning a massive rebuilding program. It was a hugely popular hire with the Italian-American community in the city. The rebuilding would ultimately lead to one of the most successful eras in franchise history, but Lucchesi did not get to see it through.

The Phillies were 73-88 in 1970 and 67-95 the following year. When they started out 26-50 in 1972, Lucchesi was dismissed, a move that angered many fans who were loyal to him.

He spent 1973 managing at Triple-A Oklahoma City and then joined manager Billy Martin’s staff in Texas. The two were long-time friends from the Bay Area.

When Martin was fired by owner Brad Corbett in 1975, Lucchesi was named his replacement. He led the Rangers to a 35-32 record for the remainder of that season, but just 76-86 in 1976. When the Rangers started out 31-31 in 1977, Lucchesi was fired.

He ended up being one of four managers for the Rangers that season. Eddie Stanky took the job for one game and quit unexpectedly. Connie Ryan served as interim manager for six games and then Billy Hunter was hired full-time. The Rangers ended up winning 94 games, which stood as the club record until 1999.

Lucchesi, his wife Cathy, daughters Fran and Karen and son Bryan became residents of Arlington. Lucchesi remained in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for the rest of his life, although he continued working in baseball elsewhere. He managed the Cubs for 25 games at the end of the 1987 season after Gene Michael was dismissed and then spent the next two years managing Triple-A Nashville, posting winning records both seasons.

Lucchesi stepped away after that, but he remained a popular and sought-after person in the Texas baseball community. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and was a regular at community baseball events and galas.

Lucchesi also reconciled with former Rangers infielder Lenny Randle later in life. The two were involved in a famous altercation at the batting cage before a Spring Training game in 1977.

The Rangers observed a moment of silence before Sunday’s game with the Athletics.

A native of San Francisco, Lucchesi had a long career as an outfielder and manager in minor league baseball. As a player (1945–1957), he toiled largely in the mid- and lower minors, in the Class B Western International League and Class C California League. He batted .276 in 1,149 games with 56 home runs. Lucchesi batted and threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).

His managerial career began in 1951 in the Class D Far West League as a player-manager. After a brief, early-1950s stint in the St. Louis Browns' organization, Lucchesi joined the Phillies' farm system in 1956. He logged 14 seasons as a manager there, including Triple-A assignments with the Arkansas Travelers, San Diego Padres and Eugene Emeralds, winning two championships; Eugene's 1969 Pacific Coast League regular-season division title earned Lucchesi promotion to the manager's job in Philadelphia the following season. In the 1970s and 1980s, Lucchesi also managed in the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds organizations.

Lucchesi took over the Phillies at the beginning of the 1970 season as the team was rebuilding with young players. Although his initial squad showed a ten-game improvement from 1969's club, the 1971 Phillies fell into the basement of the National League East Division, and when the Phils started only 26–50 in 1972, Lucchesi was fired on July 9 by the club's new general manager, Paul Owens, who took over as manager himself.

Lucchesi during his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies, circa 1972

After returning to Triple-A to manage Cleveland's Oklahoma City 89ers affiliate in 1973, Lucchesi was appointed third-base coach of the Texas Rangers of the American League (AL) for 1974. The following season, on July 21, 1975, Lucchesi succeeded the fired Billy Martin as manager of the 1975 Rangers, who were a disappointing 44–51 in Martin's second season at the helm. Lucchesi led them to a 35–32 mark for the remainder of the year, and was rehired for 1976, when the Rangers continued to struggle at 76–86, tied for fourth in the AL West. Lucchesi was invited to return as manager for 1977, but a violent incident in spring training with second baseman Lenny Randle marred the season

Lucchesi was auditioning rookie Bump Wills to take over Randle's second base job. When Randle complained publicly about being benched, Lucchesi was quoted as responding: "I'm sick and tired of punks making $80,000 a year moaning and groaning about their situation." A few days later, before an exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins in Orlando, Randle and Lucchesi became embroiled in an argument. Randle struck his manager, who was still clad in street clothes, knocking Lucchesi to the ground and causing his hospitalization for a concussion and broken jaw. Randle was suspended without pay for 30 days, fined an additional $10,000, then traded to the New York Mets.

Meanwhile, Lucchesi recovered from his injuries and returned to the bench, but on June 21, with the 1977 Rangers stalled at 31–31, he was fired. Randle was found guilty of assault, and Lucchesi later sued him for $200,000, blaming Randle for the loss of his job. The case was settled, and in 1979–80 Lucchesi returned to the Rangers as third-base coach, serving under manager Pat Corrales, whom he had managed 15 years earlier in the Phillies' farm system.

In 1987, Lucchesi was named caretaker pilot of the Chicago Cubs on September 8 upon the firing of Gene Michael. He had been serving the team as an "eye in the sky" scout from the press box. The Cubs went 8–17 over the season's final month, then hired both a new general manager, Jim Frey, and a new manager, Don Zimmer, for 1988. Lucchesi, then 61, returned to the minor leagues for two final seasons, managing the Nashville Sounds, the Reds' top affiliate in the Triple-A American Association.