Lum Harris

Lum Harris
Lum Harris with the Baltimore Orioles in 1955
Pitcher/Manager
Born: January 17, 1915(1915-01-17) Jefferson County, Alabama
Died: November 11, 1996(1996-11-11) (aged 81) Pell City, Alabama
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1941 for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
May 11, 1947 for the Washington Senators
Career statistics
Win-Loss record	35–63
Earned run average	4.16
Innings pitched	820
Teams
As player Philadelphia Athletics (1941–1944; 1946) Washington Senators (1947) As manager Baltimore Orioles (1961) Houston Colt .45s/Astros (1964–1965) Atlanta Braves (1968–1972)

Chalmer Luman Harris (January 17, 1915 – November 11, 1996) was an American right-handed pitcher, coach, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball.

Born in the village of "New Castle", Alabama, his playing career began with the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in 1937. His catcher that season was Paul Richards, who in 1938 became Atlanta's player-manager. Richards and Harris would form a decades-long association in baseball at the minor and major league levels.

Harris compiled a 35-63 record with a 4.16 earned-run average in 151 American League games with the Philadelphia Athletics and (briefly) Washington Senators from 1941-47. The remainder of his major league career would be spent working in tandem with Richards, initially as a coach with the Chicago White Sox (1951–54), Baltimore Orioles (1955–61), and Houston Colt .45s (1962–64). In each case he worked under Richards, who was either his manager, general manager, or (in Baltimore from 1955–58) both. Despite his playing background, Harris was never a pitching coach; he usually served as a third-base coach.

In 1965, Harris was promoted by Richards to manager of the newly rechristened Houston Astros, serving for the team's debut season in the Astrodome. It was actually his second major league managerial post: he had briefly managed Baltimore in September 1961 when Richards resigned to take the front office reins of the expansion franchise in Houston.

After Richards became the vice president for baseball operations (in effect, general manager) of the Atlanta Braves of the National League during 1966, Harris followed as manager of AAA Richmond, and, then, from 1968 to the middle of the 1972 season, as manager of the big-league Braves. Harris led Atlanta to the first-ever National League West Division championship in 1969, but his Braves lost the National League Championship Series to the eventual world champion New York Mets.

When the Braves slumped in ensuing years, Richards was fired during the 1972 season, and Harris was replaced as the Braves' manager by the former Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews. Harris' final major league managerial record was 466-488.

Harris died of diabetes at age 81 in Pell City, Alabama. He is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery.

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record and playing statistics
• Lum Harris at Find a Grave

Preceded by Paul Richards	Baltimore Orioles Manager 1961	Succeeded by Billy Hitchcock
Preceded by Harry Craft	Houston Colt .45's/Astros Manager 1964-1965	Succeeded by Grady Hatton
Preceded by Ken Silvestri	Atlanta Braves Manager 1968-1972	Succeeded by Eddie Mathews