View source for George Stallings

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (1867–1929)}}
{{about|the baseball manager|his son, a cartoonist sometimes credited as George Stallings|Vernon Stallings|the religious leader|George Augustus Stallings Jr.|the member of the Florida House of Representatives|George B. Stallings Jr.}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=George Stallings
|image=George Stallings.jpg
|position=[[Catcher]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1867|11|17}}
|birth_place=[[Augusta, Georgia]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1929|5|13|1867|11|17}}
|death_place=[[Haddock, Georgia]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate= May 22 
|debutyear= 1890
|debutteam=Brooklyn Bridegrooms
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate= August 28
|finalyear= 1898
|finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.100
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=0
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=0
|stat4label=Games managed
|stat4value=1,813
|stat5label=Managerial record
|stat5value=879–898
|stat6label=Winning %
|stat6value={{winning percentage|879|898}}
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Brooklyn Bridegrooms]] ({{mlby|1890}})
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1897}}–{{mlby|1898}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1897}}–{{mlby|1898}})
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1901}})
* [[New York Highlanders]] ({{mlby|1909}}–{{mlby|1910}})
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{mlby|1913}}–{{mlby|1920}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1914}})

}}
'''George Tweedy Stallings''' (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[catcher]] and [[manager (baseball)|manager]]. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] for the [[Brooklyn Bridegrooms]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]] in 1890 and 1897 to 1898 and managed the Phillies, [[Detroit Tigers]], [[New York Highlanders]], and [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] between 1897 and 1920.

Stallings led the [[1914 Boston Braves season|1914 Boston Braves]] from last place in mid-July to the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] championship and a [[1914 World Series|World Series]] sweep of the powerful [[Philadelphia Athletics]] – resulted in a nickname he would bear for the rest of his life: "The Miracle Man."<ref>{{cite news |title=The "Miracle Man" of baseball |url=https://archive.org/stream/independen79v80newy#page/136/mode/1up |newspaper=The Independent |date=October 26, 1914 |access-date=July 24, 2012}}</ref>

==Playing career==
Stallings was born on November 17, 1867, in [[Augusta, Georgia]]. Stallings graduated from the [[Virginia Military Institute]] in 1886.  He entered medical school, but was instead offered a contract by [[Harry Wright]], manager of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]].  He was cut in spring training.  Stallings was a mediocre player: he appeared in only seven major league games as a [[catcher]], [[first baseman]] and [[outfielder]] with [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn]] (1890) and the Phillies (1897–98) and had only two [[hit (baseball)|hits]] in 20 [[at-bat]]s, [[batting average (baseball)|hitting]] a weak .100.

==Managerial career==
As a manager, he had a mixed major league resume prior to 1914: a poor record with the Phillies (1897–98), then mild successes in the [[American League]] with the [[Detroit Tigers]] (1901) and [[New York Highlanders]] (1909–10). In the minor leagues, he managed the {{Baseball year|1895}} [[Nashville Seraphs]] to win the [[Southern League (1885–1899)|Southern League]] pennant; he also played an infield position on the team.<ref>Traughber, Bill. [http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/newsarchive.asp?newsId=1023 "Looking Back: Seraphs Win 1895 Championship."] ''Nashville Sounds''. May 10, 2004. March 22, 2008.</ref> He also managed Detroit before it became a major league team in part of 1896 and from the end of 1898 through its becoming a charter member of the [[American League]]. He was also part-owner of the Tigers during their first season as a major league team.

Named manager of the last-place Braves after the 1912 season, Stallings raised Boston to fifth place in the NL in his first season, 1913, but the Braves were sunk at the bottom of the eight-team league and {{frac|11|1|2}} games from the frontrunning [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] on July 15, 1914, when they began their meteoric rise.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aS0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84 ''How Losing an Exhibition Sparked Miracle Braves''], by Joseph M. Overfield, Baseball Digest, May 1961, Vol. 20, No. 4, {{ISSN|0005-609X}}</ref> With Stallings expertly handling a roster of light hitters (Boston hit only .251 as a team) and relying on pitchers [[Dick Rudolph]] and [[Seattle Bill James|Bill James]] (who each won 26 games), the Braves won 52 of their final 66 contests to overtake the other seven National League teams and finish {{frac|10|1|2}} games in front of the second-place Giants.<ref>[http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1914.html The 1914 Boston Braves at www.thisgreatgame.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051106/http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1914.html |date=July 17, 2011 }}</ref> They then defeated the heavily favored [[1914 Philadelphia Athletics season|Philadelphia Athletics]] in four straight games to earn the nickname "Miracle Braves."<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1914_WS.shtml 1914 World Series at Baseball Reference]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2C4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 "Down To The Wire; Six Greatest Stretch Runs For The Pennant"] by George Vass, ''Baseball Digest'', Sep 2001, Vol. 60, No. 9, {{ISSN|0005-609X}}</ref>

[[File:George Tweedy Stallings in 1914.jpg|thumb|left|Stallings in 1914]]
Stallings is credited with being the first manager to use [[Platoon system|platooning]] to good effect.<ref name=sabr>{{cite web|title=George Stallings |url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/1caa4821 |author=Kohout, Martin | website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |access-date=April 27, 2017 }}</ref> It was not strictly left/right hand platooning (there were then relatively few southpaw pitchers), but he did change his lineup significantly when the Braves played a team starting a left-handed pitcher.  [[Bill James]] credits him with being the first major league manager to use platooning as a weapon, rather than to cover a hitter's weaknesses.

The [[1914 World Series|1914 championship]] was the only World Series title earned by the Braves during their tenure in [[Boston]], which lasted through March 1953.  It also was Stallings’ first and only big league championship. He managed the Braves through 1920, but posted no winning season after 1916.  His career major league managing record was 879 wins, 898 losses (.495) over 13 years.

Stallings was responsible for bringing professional baseball back to the city of [[Montreal, Quebec]]. In 1928, his partnership with Montreal lawyer and politician [[Athanase David]] and businessman [[Ernest Savard]] resurrected the [[Montreal Royals]] as part of the [[International League]].  They built the modern new [[Delorimier Stadium]] in downtown Montreal.

Stallings was famous for his superstitions, and for his nervousness on the bench.  He has been described as both "distinguished" and salty-tongued.  He died in [[Haddock, Georgia]] at age 61 of [[heart disease]].  According to legend, when asked by his physician why he had a bad heart, Stallings replied, "[[Base on balls|Bases on balls]], doc ... those damned bases on balls." He was buried in [[Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia)|Riverside Cemetery]] in [[Macon, Georgia]].<ref name=sabr/>

===Managerial record===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
|-
![[1897 Philadelphia Phillies season|PHI]]|| {{mlby|1897}}
||134||{{WinLossPct|57|77}}|| 10th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1898 Philadelphia Phillies season|PHI]]|| {{mlby|1898}}
||46||{{WinLossPct|19|27}}|| fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|PHI total ||178||{{WinLossPct|74|104}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|-
![[1901 Detroit Tigers season|DET]]|| {{mlby|1901}}
||135||{{WinLossPct|74|61}}|| 3rd in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|DET total ||135||{{WinLossPct|74|61}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|-
![[1909 New York Highlanders season|NYH]]|| {{mlby|1909}}
||151||{{WinLossPct|74|77}}|| 5th in AL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1910 New York Highlanders season|NYH]]|| {{mlby|1910}}
||137||{{WinLossPct|78|59}}|| fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|NYH total ||288||{{WinLossPct|152|136}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|-
![[1913 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1913}}
||151||{{WinLossPct|69|82}}|| 5th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-style="background:#fde910"
![[1914 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1914}}
||153||{{WinLossPct|94|59}}|| '''1st in NL''' || {{WinLossPct|4|0}} || '''Won [[1914 World Series|World Series]] ([[1914 Philadelphia Athletics season|PHA]])'''
|-
![[1915 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1915}}
||152||{{WinLossPct|83|69}}|| 2nd in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1916 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1916}}
||152||{{WinLossPct|89|63}}|| 3rd in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1917 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1917}}
||153||{{WinLossPct|72|81}}|| 6th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1918 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1918}}
||124||{{WinLossPct|53|71}}|| 7th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1919 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1919}}
||139||{{WinLossPct|57|82}}|| 6th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1920 Boston Braves season|BOB]]|| {{mlby|1920}}
||152||{{WinLossPct|62|90}}|| 7th in NL || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|BOB total ||1176||{{WinLossPct|579|597}}|| || {{WinLossPct|4|0}} ||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total ||1777||{{WinLossPct|879|898}}|| || {{WinLossPct|4|0}} || 
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
*[[List of Major League Baseball player–managers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|George Stallings}}
{{baseballstats|br=s/stallge01|brm=stalli002geo}}
{{baseball-reference manager|stallge01}}
* {{Find a Grave}}

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{{New York Yankees managers}}
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{{1914 Boston Braves}}
{{1956–63 International League Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallings, George}}
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