Athletes - George Stallings

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	Athletes - George Stallings

George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American manager and (briefly) player in Major League Baseball. His most famous achievement – leading the 1914 Boston Braves from last place in mid-July to the National League championship and a World Series sweep of the powerful Philadelphia Athletics – resulted in a nickname he would bear for the rest of his life: "The Miracle Man."

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Stallings was a mediocre player: he appeared in only seven major league games as a catcher, first baseman and outfielder with Brooklyn (1890) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1897-98) and boasted only two hits in 20 at-bats, hitting a weak .100. As a manager, he had a mixed major league resume prior to 1914: a poor record with the Phillies (1897-98), then mild successes in the American League with the Detroit Tigers (1901) and New York Highlanders (1909-10).

Named manager of the last-place Braves after the 1912 season, Stallings raised Boston to fifth place in the NL in his first season, 1913, but the Braves were sunk at the bottom of the eight-team league and 11 ½ games from the frontrunning New York Giants on July 15, 1914 when they began their meteoric rise. With Stallings expertly handling a roster of light hitters (Boston hit only .251 as a team) and relying on pitchers Dick Rudolph and Bill James (who each won 26 games), the Braves won 52 of their final 66 contests to overtake the other seven NL teams and finish 10 ½ games in front of the second-place Giants. They then defeated the heavily-favored Athletics in four straight games to earn the nickname "Miracle Braves."

The 1914 championship was the only World Series title earned by the Braves during their tenure in Boston, which lasted through March 1953. It also was Stallings’ first and only big league championship. He managed the Braves through 1920, but posted no winning season after 1916. His career major league managing record was 879 wins, 898 losses (.495) over 13 years.

Stallings was famous for his superstitions, and for his nervousness on the bench. He has been described as both "distinguished" and salty-tongued. He died in Haddock, Georgia at age 61 of heart disease. According to legend, when asked why he had a bad heart, Stallings replied, "Bases on balls, doc ... those damned bases on balls."

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