Casey Stengel
A baseball lifer with a clown's grin and a strategist's mind, he managed the mighty Yankees to dynasty and the hapless Mets to infamy.
1890–1975 (age 85)·American baseball player and manager·Birthday: July 30·The Lost Generation
Biography
Casey Stengel's story is baseball's great epic comedy. He enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, 14-year playing career remembered mostly for a hidden sparrow that flew from his cap during an at-bat. But it was as a manager that he became a true American character. After years of middling results with other teams, he was handed the reins of the New York Yankees in 1949 at age 58, and promptly orchestrated one of the greatest runs in sports history: ten American League pennants and seven World Series championships in twelve years. His genius was masked by his famous 'Stengelese'—a circular, confusing patter of double-talk that delighted writers and baffled opponents. In a final act of poetic symmetry, he was hired to helm the expansion New York Mets in 1962, leading a historically terrible team with the same theatrical despair and folksy wit, endearing himself to a new generation. He was less a coach and more a ringmaster of the grand, unpredictable baseball circus.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Casey was born in 1890, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Casey Was Born
The biggest hits of 1890
Casey's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1890Born
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1895Started school
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1903Became a teenager
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Could drive
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could vote
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Turned 21
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 30
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 40
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1940Turned 50
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 60
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 70
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 80
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Died at 85
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Key Achievements
- Won seven World Series championships as manager of the New York Yankees, including five in a row from 1949-1953.
- Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 for his managerial accomplishments.
- Managed the New York Yankees to ten American League pennants in twelve seasons from 1949 to 1960.
- Was the first manager of the New York Mets, becoming a beloved figure despite the team's historically poor early record.
- Had a 37-year managerial career in Major League Baseball, spanning from 1934 to 1965.
Did You Know?
He earned the nickname 'The Old Perfessor' from sportswriters due to his professorial, if confusing, manner of speech.
As a player, he hit an inside-the-park home run to win the first World Series game ever played at Yankee Stadium in 1923.
He was a masterful platoon system manager, often batting players based on whether the opposing pitcher was right or left-handed.
His number 37 was retired by both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, a unique honor.
“Most people my age are dead. You could look it up.”
