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Lum Harris

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Lum Harris
Harris with the Baltimore Orioles in 1955
Pitcher / Manager
Born: (1915-01-17)January 17, 1915
New Castle, Alabama, U.S.
Died: November 11, 1996(1996-11-11) (aged 81)
Pell City, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1941, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
May 11, 1947, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record35–63
Earned run average4.16
Strikeouts232
Managerial record466–488
Winning %.488
Teams
As player
As manager
As coach

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 New Castle, Alabama, Harris began his playing career 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.

Playing career

The 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 185 lb (84 kg) Harris compiled a 35–63 record with a 4.16 earned-run average in 151 American League games with the Philadelphia Athletics (1941–1944 and 1946) and Washington Senators (1947). He missed the 1945 season while serving in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.[1] As a big leaguer, Harris allowed 874 hits and 265 bases on balls in 820 innings pitched and 151 games, with 232 strikeouts. He pitched at the Triple-A level during his last three active seasons in pro ball.

The remainder of Harris' Major League career would be spent working in tandem with Richards, initially as a coach with the Chicago White Sox (1951–1954), Baltimore Orioles (1955–1961) and Houston Colt .45s (1962–1964). In each case he worked under Richards, who was either his manager, general manager, or (in Baltimore from 1955 to 1958) both. Despite his playing background, Harris was never a pitching coach; he usually served as a third-base coach.

Manager of Astros and Braves

Harris' first managerial experience came late in the 1961 season. On August 30, Richards stepped down as the skipper of the Baltimore Orioles to become the general manager of the expansion Houston Colt .45s, and Harris took command as interim pilot on September 1. He led them to 17 wins in 27 games (.630), as Baltimore finished third in the American League. After the season, however, Harris rejoined Richards in Houston as a coach, while Billy Hitchcock took over as Baltimore's skipper for 1962.

Harris served for almost three full seasons as a Colt .45 coach under Harry Craft, until September 19, 1964, when Richards promoted him to manager.[2] In 1965, Harris helmed the re-christened Houston Astros, serving for the team's debut season in the Astrodome. But the 1965 Astros went only 65–97 to finish ninth in the ten-team National League and, at the end of the year, Richards was fired, and Harris was replaced by Grady Hatton as the Astros' pilot. Harris then served as a Houston scout in 1966.

In August 1966, Richards returned to the major leagues as the vice president for baseball operations (in effect, general manager) of the Atlanta Braves. After that season, Harris rejoined his old boss in 1967 as skipper of the Richmond Braves, Atlanta's Triple-A farm club. Then, from 1968 to the middle of the 1972 season, Harris managed the big-league Braves (ironically, succeeding Hitchcock).

Harris led Atlanta to 93 victories and the first National League West Division championship in 1969—an expansion year when both the National and American leagues grew to 12 teams and adopted divisional play for the first time. It was the franchise's first postseason berth since losing the 1958 World Series as the Milwaukee Braves; however, Harris' squad lost the 1969 National League Championship Series to the eventual world champion New York Mets in three straight games. When the Braves slumped in ensuing years, Richards was fired during the 1972 season, on June 1; slightly more than two months later, on August 6, Harris was replaced as manager by former Braves' third baseman Eddie Mathews.[3] Harris' final managerial record was 466–488 (.488).

Harris died due to ill effects of diabetes at age 81 in Pell City, Alabama.[4] He is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery.

Managerial record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
BAL 1961 27 17 10 .630 3rd in AL – – – –
BAL total 27 17 10 .630 0 0 –
HOU 1964 13 5 8 .385 9th in NL – – – –
HOU 1965 162 65 97 .401 9th in NL – – – –
HOU total 175 70 105 .400 0 0 –
ATL 1968 162 81 81 .500 5th in NL – – – –
ATL 1969 162 93 69 .574 1st in NL West 0 3 .000 Lost NLCS (NYM)
ATL 1970 162 76 86 .469 5th in NL West – – – –
ATL 1971 162 82 80 .506 3rd in NL West – – – –
ATL 1972 104 47 57 .452 fired – – – –
ATL total 752 379 373 .504 0 3 .000
Total 954 466 488 .488 0 3 .000

References

  1. ^ "Those Whop Served, A–Z", Baseball in Wartime
  2. ^ Harry Craft fired as Colt Manager
  3. ^ Braves fire Harris, hire Ed Mathews
  4. ^ Ex-Braves manager Harris dies at 81[permanent dead link]
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