Durocher, Leo (Ernest)

(born July 27, 1905, West Springfield, Mass., U.S.—died Oct. 7, 1991, Palm Springs, Calif.) U.S. baseball player and manager. Durocher played for various teams from 1928 to 1938, distinguishing himself by his sharp fielding at shortstop. He gained notoriety as the cheeky, contentious manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1939–46, 1948); he was suspended from managing for the entire 1947 season for “conduct detrimental to baseball,” a vague charge that was based upon Durocher's reputation for gambling and fast living. He managed the New York Giants 1948–55, left to become a commentator, returned to the game as a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1961–64), and managed the Chicago Cubs (1966–72) and the Houston Astros (1972–73). He is credited with the observation “Nice guys finish last” (what he actually said was, “The nice guys over there are in seventh place”).

Durocher, Leo (Ernest) (1905–91) baseball player/manager; born in West Springfield, Mass. As a major league shortstop for 17 seasons (1925–45), he played in two World Series and was an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals' "Gas House" teams of the 1930s. During his 24-year career as a manager (1939–73), he managed the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros. (He was forced to sit out the 1947 season because of "conduct detrimental to baseball.") His irascible style of managing earned him the nickname, "The Lip," and inspired his teams to three league championships and a World Series victory in 1954. Among his many unprintable words, his most often quoted—"Nice guys finish last!"—were probably never spoken by him, at least in such an aphoristic form. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.