Fred Haney
A sharp baseball mind who transitioned from scrappy player to a champion manager, then built a major league franchise from scratch in Los Angeles.
1896–1977 (age 81)·American baseball player, manager, and executive·Birthday: April 25·The Lost Generation
Biography
Fred Haney’s baseball life was a masterclass in adaptation. His playing career as a third baseman was brief and unglamorous, defined more by grit than star power. But it was there he learned the game’s granular details, a education he parlayed into a second act as a manager and executive. His managerial peak came with the Milwaukee Braves, where his calm, strategic hand guided a roster of stars like Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn to two National League pennants and a dramatic World Series victory over the Yankees in 1957. After his on-field success, he was tasked with a different kind of creation: bringing the American League to the West Coast. As the first general manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels, Haney navigated an expansion draft, built a roster, and established the team's operations, making them immediately competitive. In a city dazzled by the Dodgers, Haney made the Angels matter, cementing his status as a foundational figure in the sport's postwar growth.
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.
Fred was born in 1896, 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 Fred Was Born
The biggest hits of 1896
Fred's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1896Born
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1901Started school
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Became a teenager
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could drive
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could vote
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Turned 21
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 30
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 40
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 50
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 60
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 70
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 80
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1977Died at 81
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
Key Achievements
- Managed the Milwaukee Braves to a World Series championship in 1957 over the heavily favored New York Yankees.
- Led the Braves to National League pennants in both 1957 and 1958.
- Served as the first General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels, constructing the expansion team's initial roster.
- Awarded the 'King of Baseball' honor by Minor League Baseball in 1974 for his lifelong contributions to the sport.
Did You Know?
He was a radio and television broadcaster for the St. Louis Browns and Chicago Cubs after his managing career.
As a player, he was traded for Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes in 1927.
The Angels won 70 games in their inaugural 1961 season, a record for a modern expansion team at the time.
“The manager's job is to take twenty-five different minds and make them think as one.”
