On this day in 1896 Fred Haney was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was just about to turn 26 years old when he made his major league debut as a member of the 1922 Tigers, and hit .352/.439/.423 in 81 games in his debut season. Haney played parts of seven seasons in the majors between 1922 and 1929, mostly at third base and mostly with the Tigers.
After several more season in the minors as a player, Haney got his start as a minor league manager with the 1935 Toledo Mud Hens. After four years there he spent three seasons at the helm of the American League's St. Louis Browns. It was his first of three stints as a minor league manager.
Haney had managed well over 2000 professional games when the Milwaukee Braves called upon him to replace Charlie Grimm as skipper 46 games into the 1956 season. The Braves were 24-22 when Haney took over but went 68-40 the rest of the way to finish with 92 wins and in second place by just one game in the National League. The next year Haney's team did even better, winning 95 games and the only World Series in Milwaukee baseball history. They also won the NL pennant a second time in 1958.
All told, Haney won 341 games, two pennants and two second place finishes over four seasons with the Braves. He later went on to be the original general manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels.
Haney passed away in 1977, or he would have turned 116 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 1991-92 Brewer Darren Holmes, who turns 46.
- 1970-71 Brewer Lew Krausse, who turns 69.
Today is also the ninth anniversary of Richie Sexson's three home run game in 2003. We covered that event in this space last year. Sexson also hit for an overcycle that day. Head over here for more on that feat.