Walter Alston

Walter Alston
Alston in 1954.
First baseman / Manager
Born: December 1, 1911(1911-12-01) Venice, Ohio
Died: October 1, 1984(1984-10-01) (aged 72) Oxford, Ohio
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 27, 1936 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1936 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Games	3,658
Win-loss record	2,040–1,613
Winning %	.558
Teams
As Player St. Louis Cardinals (1936) As Manager Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1954–1976)
Career highlights and awards
4× World Series champion (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965) Los Angeles Dodgers #24 retired
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1983
Vote	Veterans' Committee

Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall of Fame. He maintained his residence in Oxford and died there in 1984 at the age of 72.

Walter Alston's number 24 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977.

Alston was a first baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1936 season. He played in his only major league game on September 27, as a substitute for future Hall of Famer Johnny Mize, who had earlier been ejected from the game. Alston struck out in his only major league at bat on three pitches – although the second strike was a long fly ball with home run distance that curved foul at the last second. After returning to the minor leagues for several years as a player and then as a manager – including a stint as the player-manager for the first U.S.-based integrated baseball team after 1898, the Nashua Dodgers of the class-B New England League – he was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1954 season.

A reporter once asked Alston about his playing record; he said, "Well, I came up to bat for the Cards back in '36, and Lon Warneke struck me out. That's it." He also played first base—two fielding chances, one error.

Alston won seven National League pennants in his 23 years tenure as Dodgers manager. In 1955 he led Brooklyn to the pennant and its only World Series championship; the team repeated as National League champions in 1956. After the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, Alston led the team to pennants in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1974, and three more world championships (1959, 1963, 1965). He was the first Dodger manager to win a World Series.

Named Manager of the Year six times, Alston also guided a victorious NL All-Star squad a record seven times. He retired after the 1976 season with 2,063 wins (2,040 in the regular season and 23 in the postseason).

As a manager, Alston was noted for his studious approach to the game (he had taught school in the off-season while in the minors) and for signing 23 one-year contracts with the Dodgers at a time when multi-year contracts were becoming the norm in the sport.

Walter Alston was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1983.

External links

• Walter Alston at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Walter Alston managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dutch Dorman	Portsmouth Red Birds 1940	Succeeded by last manager
Preceded by first manager	Springfield Cardinals 1941–1942	Succeeded by last manager
Preceded by Joe Bird	Trenton Packers 1944	Succeeded by last manager
Preceded by first manager	Trenton Spartans 1945	Succeeded by last manager
Preceded by first manager	Nashua Dodgers 1946	Succeeded by John Dantonio
Preceded by first manager	Pueblo Dodgers 1947	Succeeded by John Fitzpatrick
Preceded by Curt Davis	St. Paul Saints 1948–1949	Succeeded by Clay Hopper
Preceded by Clay Hopper	St. Paul Saints 1950–1953	Succeeded by Max Macon
Preceded by Chuck Dressen	Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Manager 1954–1976	Succeeded by Tommy Lasorda

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