DUROCHER, LEO

born July 27, 1905, West Springfield, Mass., U.S. died Oct. 7, 1991, Palm Springs, Calif. in full Leo Ernest Durocher American professional baseball player and manager. Durocher played a year each in Atlanta and St. Paul before joining the New York Yankees in 1928. He was a superb fielder at shortstop but a mediocre hitter, and he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1930. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933 and became a star with that team when they won the World Series in 1934. Durocher was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937 and became that team's captain in 1938. He managed the Dodgers in 193946 and 1948 and led them to a pennant in 1941. (He was suspended for the entire 1947 season because of his truculence.) Durocher managed the New York Giants in 194855 and led them to two pennants (1951 and 1954) and a World Series win in the latter year. He quit the Giants in 1955 to become a baseball commentator on television but returned as coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 196164. He then managed the Chicago Cubs in 196672 and the Houston Astros in 197273. Durocher, who is known for the phrase nice guys finish last (in fact he said, the nice guys over there are in seventh place), was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.