Charlie Fox

For other persons with a similar name, see Charles Fox (disambiguation).

Charlie Fox
Catcher
Born: (1921-10-07)October 7, 1921 New York, New York
Died: February 16, 2004(2004-02-16) (aged 82) Stanford, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 24, 1942 for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1942 for the New York Giants
Career statistics
Batting average	.429
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	1
Teams
New York Giants (1942)
Career highlights and awards
The Sporting News Major League Manager of the Year (1971)

Charles Francis Fox (October 7, 1921 – February 16, 2004) was an American manager, general manager, scout, coach — and, briefly, a catcher — in Major League Baseball. As manager of the National League West Division champion San Francisco Giants in 1971, he was named "Manager of the Year" by The Sporting News.

Early career

Born in New York City, Fox appeared in only three games as a Major League player — garnering three hits in seven at bats for a career batting average of .429 — with the 1942 New York Giants. But Fox would spend another 33 years in that organization as a minor league catcher and manager and as a manager, scout and coach for the Giants, who relocated to San Francisco in 1958.

Fox spent eight years as manager of the Giants' Class C St. Cloud Rox team in the Northern League, scouted from 1957–1963, then managed the Giants' AAA Tacoma club of the Pacific Coast League in 1964 before coming to the Major Leagues as a San Francisco coach in 1965. He returned to the PCL to manage the Giants' Phoenix club in 1969–1970 until he was summoned to San Francisco in May 1970 to replace Clyde King as the manager of the MLB Giants.

Major League managerial career

Fox led the Giants to the NL West title in 1971, losing to the eventual world champion Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series. Subsequently, the Giants made a series of bad trades and fell from contention thereafter. In mid-1974, after compiling a record of 348–327 (.516), Fox was replaced as manager by former stalwart Giants catcher Wes Westrum.

In 1976, he joined the front office of the Montreal Expos as a special assignment scout and served as the club's emergency manager when Karl Kuehl was fired September 4. After winning only 12 of 34 games to close out the season, Fox was named the club's general manager and was succeeded on the field by Dick Williams. He held the GM title in Montreal through the 1978 season.

Fox, however, was destined to serve another term as an interim manager. In 1983, while working as a special assistant to Chicago Cubs general manager Dallas Green, Fox took over from embattled skipper Lee Elia and managed the Cubs for the final 39 games of the season, winning 17 and losing 22. In 1984, he was replaced by Jim Frey. He later coached under Green with the New York Yankees, and scouted for the Houston Astros.

Fox's career major league managing record was 377–371 (.504).

Fox died at age 82 in Stanford, California.

Managerial statistics

Team	Year	Regular Season				Post Season
		Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
SFG	1970	67	53	.558	3rd in NL West	–	–	–	–
SFG	1971	90	72	.556	1st in NL West	1	3	.250	Lost to Pittsburgh Pirates
SFG	1972	69	86	.445	5th in NL West	–	–	–	–
SFG	1973	88	74	.543	3rd in NL West	–	–	–	–
SFG	1974	34	42	.447	5th in NL West	–	–	–	–
MON	1976	12	22	.353	6th in NL East	–	–	–	–
CHC	1983	17	22	.436	5th in NL East	–	–	–	–
Total		377	371	.504		1	3	.250	–

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com – career managing record and playing statistics

Sporting positions
Preceded by Clyde King	San Francisco Giants Manager 1971–1974	Succeeded by Wes Westrum
Preceded by Karl Kuehl	Montreal Expos Manager 1976	Succeeded by Dick Williams
Preceded by Lee Elia	Chicago Cubs Manager 1983	Succeeded by Jim Frey
Preceded by Jim Fanning	Montreal Expos General Manager 1976–1978	Succeeded by John McHale