Alvin Dark
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
. He played fourteen years in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves (1946, 1948–49, 1960), the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(1950–56), the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
(1956–58), the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
(1958–59), and the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
(1960). Later, he managed the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
(1961–64), the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966–67, 1974–75), the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
(1968–71), and the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
(1977). He was a three-time All-Star and a two-time
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
champion, once as a player (
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
) and once as a manager (
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
). Born in
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, Dark grew up in
Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...
. He played
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
at
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
before transferring to Southwestern Louisiana Institute to engage in officer training for the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. After serving in the Marines in 1945 and 1946, he signed with the Braves, debuting with them later that year. He spent 1947 in the
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
, then was named the major leagues' 1948 Rookie of the Year after
batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...
.322 for the Boston Braves. Following the 1949 season, he was traded to the Giants, who were looking to improve their speed and fielding. Named the
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
by Giants manager
Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...
, he hit .300 or more three times while playing for the Giants, and became the first
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(NL) shortstop to hit 20
home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
more than once. He batted over .400 in the 1951 World Series and the
1954 World Series The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Ind ...
, the latter of which New York won by sweeping the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
. Traded to the Cardinals in 1956, Dark served as their starting shortstop through the beginning of the 1958 season, when his diminished range caused him to be shifted to third base. He spent most of 1958 and all of 1959 with the Cubs, then played for the Phillies and Braves in 1960 before retiring as a player. Dark had 2,089 hits in his career. Of the three shortstops in New York following World War II, Dark had a higher batting average and more home runs than
Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to th ...
or
Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an Americans, American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 194 ...
, despite the fact that he is the only one not in the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
. Traded to the Giants after the 1960 season, Dark was named the team manager for 1961. Now playing in San Francisco, the Giants had a winning record each of Dark's four years with them and reached the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in 1962, losing to the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
in a close seven-game contest. Dark became embroiled in controversy in 1964 after a ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' article accused him of making racist comments. He was fired following the 1964 season, in which the Giants narrowly missed the pennant. After a year as the Cub's third base coach, he was hired to manage the Athletics in 1966. He only lasted two years with Kansas City before getting dismissed over a dispute with
Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas C ...
about a player suspension. Hired to manage the Indians for 1968, Dark took on the dual role of
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and field manager in 1969. The Indians finished third place in the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL) in 1968 but had losing seasons the next three years, and Dark was fired in mid-1971 even though there were still two years remaining on his contract. Rehired to manage the Athletics in 1974, Dark became the third manager to win pennants in the NL and the AL. He led the team to its third straight
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
win and another playoff berth in 1975. During a church talk in 1975, he mentioned that Finley would be going to Hell if he did not accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and the owner fired Dark after the season, saying he was "too busy with church activities." Dark was hired one last time as a manager for San Diego in the middle of 1977. Finishing out the year with them, he hoped to be retained for 1978, but new general manager Bob Fontaine Sr. elected to go with Roger Craig, firing Dark in the middle of 1978
spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
. Following his managerial career, Dark held jobs as a minor league director for the Cubs and
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
in the 1980s. He moved to
Easley, South Carolina Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the State of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County. In 2001, Easley hosted the Big League ...
, in 1983, where he lived before dying of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in 2014.


Early life

Dark was born in
Comanche, Oklahoma Comanche is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,663 at the 2010 census. History Comanche is a small city in southwest Oklahoma, set in rolling prairie land interspersed with oil fields, ranches, farms, p ...
, the third-oldest of four children of Ralph and Cordia Dark. Ralph was a
tool pusher A tool pusher (sometimes toolpusher or just pusher or even, when spoken of in the third person, The Push) is an occupation within the oil drilling industry. On a land drilling rig the tool pusher may be rig manager and responsible for all operat ...
for oil drillers. After living in Oklahoma and Texas, the Darks moved to
Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...
, where Alvin spent much of his formative years. Malaria and diphtheria prevented Dark from being able to attend school until he turned seven, but by the time he reached high school, he was playing
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. As a tailback, Dark was an All-State and All-Southern player for Lake Charles High School, and he captained the basketball team as well. The school did not have a baseball team, but Dark played
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
baseball in his teens. He was offered a basketball scholarship from
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, but he turned it down in favor of a baseball and basketball scholarship from
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
(LSU).


College

Dark was a member of
Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
at LSU. During his sophomore year in 1942–43, he lettered in baseball, basketball, and football. Used as a halfback by the football team, he averaged 7.2 yards rushing, gaining 433 yards on 60 attempts. With
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
occurring, he transferred through the V-12 program to Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI, now the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...
), in order to train to be an officer in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. Playing tailback for the most successful football team in school history in 1943, he helped SLI to an undefeated season in 1943 and a New Year's Day victory in the
Oil Bowl The Oil Bowl was a college football bowl game played three times at Rice Field in Houston, Texas in the 1940s. Muddy conditions for the first game, and freezing temperatures for the third game, doomed future contests. In 1949, a junior college bow ...
. Against Arkansas A&M College in the 24–7 victory, Dark ran for a
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
, passed for another, and kicked a
field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
as well as three
extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s. Meanwhile, he batted .462 for the baseball team, also participating on the basketball and
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
teams. Then, Dark went to
Parris Island Parris is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Parris Afton Bonds, American novelist * Parris Campbell (born 1997), American football player * Parris Duffus (born 1970), retired American ice hockey go ...
and
Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilming ...
, completing basic training for the Marines before getting sworn in as an officer at
Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...
, in 1945. He would ultimately complete his bachelor's degree at SLI in 1947, after his professional baseball career had already begun.


Military service

After receiving his Marine commission, Dark was sent to
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
to await assignment. He was briefly sent to
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
to be part of a machine-gun outfit, but after one day, he was sent back to Pearl Harbor because the military wanted him on the Marine Corps football team. In December, after the war was over, he was sent to China, where he helped support the Nationalist forces in the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
by guarding a supply station 45 miles south of
Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and transporting supplies to another station. Dark spent four months doing this, but he and his squad did not realize that one of the towns they passed through was Communist-controlled. "A month after I got back to the States, I received word that the Marines who took our place were ambushed in the Communist town and massacred," he wrote in his autobiography. Upon his return to the States in 1946, Dark discovered he had been drafted by the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
in the 1945 NFL Draft. He preferred baseball over football, however, and Ted McGrew, a
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
for the Boston Braves, was impressed with Dark's "tenacity and competitive spirit in all sports," according to Eric Aron of the
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
. Dark signed a $50,000 contract with the Braves on July 4, 1946, joining them 10 days later when his military service ended.


Baseball career


Player


Boston Braves (1946, 1948–49)

Dark's
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) debut came on July 14, 1946, when he was used as a
pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...
for
Don Padgett Don Wilson Padgett (December 5, 1911 – December 9, 1980) was an American professional baseball player, a catcher/outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (1937–41), Brooklyn Dodgers (1946), Boston Braves (1946) and Philadelphia Phillies (1947 ...
in a 5–2 loss in the second game of a doubleheader against the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. On August 8, he had his first
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
, doubling against Lefty Hoerst as the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
beat the Braves by a score of 9–8. Used strictly as a reserve player and only about once every five games, Dark made only 15 appearances for the Braves in 1946, getting three hits (all doubles) in 13
at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s. In 1947, Dark hoped to be the Braves' starting
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
, but
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
Billy Southworth William Harold Southworth (March 9, 1893 – November 15, 1969) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player in and and from to for five big-league teams, Southworth took part in almost 1,200 games, fell j ...
elected to go with the veteran
Sibby Sisti Sebastian Daniel "Sibby" Sisti (July 26, 1920 – April 24, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball utility player. Playing career Sisti stood 5' 11" (180 cm) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). His perseverance in the face of ...
at the position. Dark was sent to the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
, an
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
team that was the Braves' top affiliate, for the only season he would spend in the minor leagues. As the starting shortstop for the Brewers, he was named an All-Star and Rookie of the Year, finishing third in American Association
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
(MVP) voting. Dark led the league in
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
(121) and doubles (49), also ranking among the league leaders in hits (186, third behind John Douglas's 195 and Bud Stewart's 189) and stolen bases (14, tied with Charlie Ray for ninth). He batted .303 with 10
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 66
runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
(RBI). Defensively, though he led the league in errors, he earned a reputation for steady play at the shortstop position. Though he was not called up in 1947, Dark made the Braves'
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
roster in 1948 as a reserve infielder, as Sisti was still the starting shortstop – but this would soon change. "First I got cut up on a takeout at second base, and that knocked me out of the lineup for a couple of weeks," Sisti said. "Dark went in, and he didn't do too well. Then I went in and I didn't do too well, so they put Dark back in. This time he clicked, and he stayed there the rest of the year." In just his second game of the year, the second half of a doubleheader against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, Dark had a season-high three RBI despite not entering the game until the third inning. By June, Dark and second baseman
Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Br ...
were showing their skill at turning
double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...
s together. From June 20 through July 11, Dark had a 23-game
hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pla ...
, three short of Guy Curtright's record for rookies. During that streak, he hit his first major league home run, against
Elmer Singleton Bert Elmer Singleton (June 26, 1918 – January 5, 1996) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball spread over 15 years (between 1945 and 1959) for the Bo ...
in a 12–3 win over the Pirates. In his first full major league season, Dark ranked among the NL leaders in batting average (.322, fourth), hits (175, fifth), and doubles (39, third behind Stan Musial's 46 and
Del Ennis Delmer Ennis (June 8, 1925 – February 8, 1996) was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1946 to 1959 for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Whit ...
's 40). He scored 85 runs, hit three home runs, and had 48 RBI. Dark was named the
MLB Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
in 1948, the second winner of the award (after
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
) and the last winner before the
Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known fo ...
(BBWAA) started giving separate awards for the best rookie in the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL) and the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(NL). Dark also finished third in MLB
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
voting in 1948 after playing a vital part of the Braves' run to the pennant, their first since 1914. He struggled in the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, though, hitting only .167 as the Braves dropped the World Series to the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
, four games to two. In Game 3, he committed an
error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...
that allowed
Gene Bearden Henry Eugene Bearden (September 5, 1920 – March 18, 2004) was an American professional baseball pitcher, a left-hander who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1947 to 1953 for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers ...
to score the first run of the game in a 2–0 loss to the Indians. Dark remained the Braves' starting shortstop in 1949. He had four hits on May 13 in a 10-inning, 6–5 win over the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
. On May 18 and May 21, he had three-RBI games, in a 13–9 loss to the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
and an 8–2 victory over the Pirates. On July 9, he had to be carried off the field after being hit in the head by a throw from Granny Hamner, but he was not seriously injured. He had two hits and three RBI on August 20, in a 4–0 victory over the Dodgers. In 130 games (529 at bats), Dark batted .276 with 74 runs scored, 146 hits, three home runs, and 53 RBI. He finished 25th in MVP voting after the season. After winning the pennant in 1948, the Braves fell to fourth place in the league, with a 75–79 record. The
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, the fifth place team, were looking to become a more multidimensional team by trading some of their power hitters for faster players that were better at defense. On December 14, the Braves traded Dark and Stanky to the Giants for
Sid Gordon Sidney Gordon (August 13, 1917 – June 17, 1975) was an American right-handed Major League Baseball two-time All-Star outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman. He had a 13-year career in MLB for the New York Giants (1941–43, 1946–49, a ...
, Willard Marshall,
Red Webb Samuel Henry "Red" Webb (September 25, 1924 – February 7, 1996) was an American professional baseball player. A , right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 25 Major League games, 22 in relief, for the – New York Giants. The Washington, D.C., n ...
, and
Buddy Kerr John Joseph "Buddy" Kerr (November 6, 1922 – November 7, 2006) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1951, Kerr played for the New York Giants (1943–1949) and Boston Braves (1950–1951). A native of Astoria, Ne ...
. Giants fans were initially disappointed at the deal, as Gordon was a fan favorite and Stanky was notorious for having excelled with the Giants' rivals, the Dodgers.


New York Giants (1950–56)

Upon joining the Giants, Dark was immediately named team
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
by manager
Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...
, a surprise to many sportswriters, who had speculated that the more veteran Stanky would get the role. An
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
article two years later called the move "smart," speculating that Durocher had made the decision because he expected the younger Dark to be with the club longer than Stanky. Dark said, "I think Leo chose me because he knew Stanky would be the way he was regardless, and he wanted me to develop more of that brashness Stanky had and Leo loved." In the first game of a doubleheader against the Reds on May 20, 1950, Dark had four hits in an 8–0 victory. He hit a three-run home run against
Bud Podbielan Clarence Anthony Podbielan (March 6, 1924 – October 26, 1982) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949–52), Cincinnati Reds/ Redlegs (1952–55 and 1957) and Cleveland Indians (1959). He was born ...
in the second game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers on July 4, but that was all the scoring for the Giants as they lost 5–3. On July 23, against the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
in Game 2 of a doubleheader, he had a home run and a two-RBI
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
against
Johnny Schmitz John Albert Schmitz (November 27, 1920 – October 1, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who worked in 366 games over 13 seasons as a member of the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Se ...
as the Giants won 3–0. In the second game of a doubleheader versus the Cubs on August 2, he had a bases-clearing
triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...
against
Johnny Klippstein John Calvin Klippstein (October 17, 1927 – October 10, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher (mostly a reliever), who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a number of teams, over an 18-season career. The most prominent portio ...
and an RBI-
sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...
against Doyle Lade as the Giants won 8–6. On September 9, his home runs against
Preacher Roe A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
were the only scores in a 2–0 win over the Dodgers. In 154 games, Dark batted .279 with 79 runs scored, 164 hits, 16 home runs, and 67 RBI. His nine stolen bases tied with Stanky's total for eighth-best in the NL. In May 1951, Dark had four-RBI games on the first, the fifth, and the ninth, racking up four hits in each of the latter two contests; the Giants won each of the games. He had his third four-hit game of the month on May 25, adding two RBI in an 8–5 victory over the Phillies. Against the Cubs on June 9, Dark hit a three-run home run in the fourth-inning against
Paul Minner Paul Edison Minner (July 30, 1923 – March 28, 2006), was a Major League pitcher from 1946 to 1956. He played for the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers. Born in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, he was listed at and . Minner was signed by the ...
, then delivered the second of back-to-back home runs off
Bob Schultz Robert Duffy Schultz (November 27, 1923 – March 31, 1979) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, his career extended for 11 seasons (1946–56), including a full season (1952) and parts of three others in Major Lea ...
in the fifth inning (with Stanky) as the Giants won 10–1. Dark made the NL All-Star team for the first time in 1951. Selected as the starting shortstop over
Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an Americans, American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 194 ...
, he had a hit against
Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball player, a major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the manager for three major league teams. Born and raised in Seattle, Washing ...
in the NL's 8–3 victory. In an 8–5 win over the Phillies on August 17, Dark again had four hits, this time scoring three runs. During Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Braves on September 5, he had four hits in a 9–1 victory. On September 16, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates at
Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of t ...
, he had four hits, including an
inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score a ...
against
Bill Werle William George Werle (December 21, 1920 – November 27, 2010) was a left-handed major league baseball pitcher from Oakland, California. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox from 1949 to 1954. His nicknam ...
as the Giants won 6–4. In 156 games, Dark had 14 home runs and 69 RBI. He led the NL with 41 doubles and also ranked among the league leaders in batting average (.303, eighth), runs scored (114, fourth, behind Musial's and
Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...
's 124 and
Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...
's 118), hits (196, fourth, behind
Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...
's 221, Musial's 205, and
Carl Furillo Carl Anthony Furillo (March 8, 1922 – January 21, 1989), nicknamed "The Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), spending his entire career with the Brooklyn / ...
's 197), and stolen bases (12, tied with teammate
Monte Irvin Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (February 25, 1919 – January 11, 2016) was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles (1938–1942, 1946–1948), New York Giant ...
for eighth). Although he led NL shortstops with 45 errors, Dark also led in
putouts In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or '' fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...
(295), assists (465) and double plays (114). Dark finished 12th in MVP voting after the season. Tied with the Dodgers at the end of the season, the Giants played a three-game tie-breaker series with Brooklyn to determine the NL pennant winner. In the deciding Game 3, with the Giants trailing 4–1 in the ninth inning, Dark led off with a single against
Don Newcombe Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball who played for the Newark Eagles (1944–45), Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949–1 ...
. As Dark recalled, "I must have fouled off six or seven pitches with two strikes before getting that hit." He then scored three batters later on a
Whitey Lockman Carroll Walter "Whitey" Lockman (July 25, 1926 – March 17, 2009) was a left-handed hitting first baseman and outfielder, coach, manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Playing career Born in Lowell, North Carolina, Lockman ...
double.
Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants (1946–53, 1957), M ...
followed with the Shot Heard 'Round the World, a three-run home run against
Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph "Hawk" Branca (January 6, 1926 – November 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944 ...
that clinched the pennant for the Giants. In Game 1 of the 1951 World Series against the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
, Dark hit a three-run home run against
Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...
, helping the Giants to a 5–1 victory. He had an RBI single against
Vic Raschi Victor John Angelo Raschi (March 28, 1919 – October 14, 1988) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Springfield Rifle," he was one of the top pitchers for the New York Yankees in the late 1940s and early 1950s, forming (w ...
in Game 3, which the Giants won 6–2. In Game 4, he had three doubles, though the Yankees won that game 6–2. Ultimately, Dark had a hit in every game of the series, batting .417, but the Giants fell to the Yankees in six games. The following year, 1952, Dark picked up where he'd left off. He had three hits and two runs scored, including a home run against
Howie Pollet Howard Joseph Pollet (June 26, 1921 – August 8, 1974) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and 1950s. A three-time All-Star in 1943, 1946 and 1949, he twice led the National League in earned run avera ...
, on June 8, 1952, in a 9–1 victory over the Pirates. On June 29, he had three runs scored, three hits, and three RBI in a 12–3 victory over the Phillies. For the second year in a row, he was selected to the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
, though he did not play this time because Hamner started for the NL, and Durocher (the manager) let all the starting players (except the
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
) play the whole game. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Cubs on July 30, his eighth inning three-run home run against Bob Rush gave the Giants three insurance runs in their 10–6 victory. He had three hits in each of three wins in a row over the Pirates on August 26, 27, and 28. On September 24, he had five hits and three runs scored, including a home run against Sheldon Jones as the Giants defeated Boston 11–8 in the first game of a doubleheader. In 151 games, Dark had 14 home runs and 73 RBI. He was seventh in the NL in runs scored (92), fourth in hits (177, behind Musial's 194,
Red Schoendienst Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst (; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years wi ...
's 188, and
Bobby Adams Robert Henry Adams (December 14, 1921 – February 13, 1997) was an American professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1946 through 1959 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, ...
's 180), eighth in doubles (29, tied with
Eddie Waitkus Edward Stephen Waitkus (September 4, 1919 – September 16, 1972) was a Lithuanian American first baseman in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career (1941, 1946–1955). He played for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the ...
and Thomson), and seventh in batting average (.301). Though he lost Stanky as a double play partner (the second baseman had been traded to the Cardinals before the season), Dark still led the NL with 116 double plays turned as shortstop, now working with Davey Williams at second base. He also led the NL in putouts for the second straight year, with 324. Entering the 1953 season, the Giants considered shifting Dark to second base, with Williams and Daryl Spencer the candidates to be the new Giants shortstop.Dark, p. 60 After having made $25,000 the year before, Dark held out at the beginning of spring training, seeking a higher salary for 1953, as Reese of the Dodgers had made $40,000 the year before. On March 3, he and the Giants finally agreed on a two-year-contract that reportedly paid somewhere between $30,000 annually (what the Giants had wanted) and $35,000 annually (what Dark had wanted). Once spring training was underway, there were reports that Dark was playing indifferently at second base, hoping to force the team to move him back to shortstop. Durocher held a press conference at his hotel room to address the rumors on March 20, and Dark barged in as it was going on. "I have told Leo I will play second, third, or anywhere else he wants me to if he thinks it will improve the club," Dark said, and Durocher concurred that there was no ill feeling between him and Dark. John Drebinger of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' doubted that Dark had played indifferently, noting that his worst day as a fielder in spring training occurred in a game in which he was playing shortstop, a game he had insisted on playing even though he was "not feeling well" that day. Dark began the season at the shortstop position. Durocher shifted him to left field on June 21, then to second base on June 25, as Spencer began to get time at short. He scored four runs and had three RBI in a 20–6 victory over Brooklyn on July 5, including a two-run home run against
Clem Labine Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 – March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodger ...
. After spending much of July playing second base, Dark was shifted back to shortstop for the rest of the season on July 29, as Spencer's batting average had been low the past month. On August 26, he had five hits and five RBI, including a two-run home run against
Harvey Haddix Harvey Haddix, Jr. (September 18, 1925 – January 8, 1994) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher and pitching coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1956), Philadelphia Phillies ...
in a 13–4 victory over the Cardinals. He had back-to-back four-hit games in victories over the Cubs on August 31 and September 1. With the Giants out of playoff contention at the end of the 1953 season, Dark convinced Durocher to let him do something he had always wanted to do in the major leagues: pitch. Originally scheduled to throw the first two innings against the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
on September 27, Dark completed only the first, giving up two runs before getting replaced by Ruben Gomez. Dark got a
no decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game with ...
, but the Giants lost 6–4. In 155 games, Dark batted .300 with 88 RBI. He led the NL in
at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s (647) and ranked among the leaders in runs scored (126, third, behind
Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...
's 132 and Musial's 127), hits (194, fourth, behind Ashburn's 205, Musial's 200, and Snider's 198), and doubles (41, second to Musial's 53). His 23 home runs were a record for NL shortstops at the time, though
Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...
would break it two years later by hitting 44. Spencer departed to serve in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1954, leaving the shortstop position unquestionably Dark's. He had five hits, two runs scored, and two RBI, including a home run against Rush, on May 14 in a 9–6 victory over the Cubs. On June 3, he had four hits and scored five runs in a 13–8 victory over the Cardinals. He had four hits against Cincinnati the next day, then had back-to-back four-hit games again against the Milwaukee Braves on June 8 and 9. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies on July 5, Dark had four hits, three runs scored, and an RBI in a 10–0 victory. On July 10, he hit a
grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
against
Max Surkont Matthew Constantine Surkont (June 16, 1922 – October 8, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played from 1949 through 1957 in the Major Leagues. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Boston / Milwaukee Braves, Pittsburgh Pira ...
, but the home run came in a 10–7 loss to Pittsburgh. He was the starting shortstop in the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
, recording a single against
Bob Keegan Robert Charles Keegan (August 4, 1920 – June 20, 2001) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox from 1953 to 1958. A native of Rochester, New York, he attended Bucknell University and performed Wo ...
in the NL's 11–9 loss to the AL. On August 6, he hit a solo home run against
Gene Conley Donald Eugene Conley (November 10, 1930 – July 4, 2017) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He played as a pitcher for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in t ...
of the Braves. An irate Conley returned to the Braves' dugout and thundered, "I'm gonna get that ––––. I'm gonna part his hair for that. That ––– is hitting me too good."Dark, p. 52 Next time Dark batted, Conley threw a pitch towards his chin, leaving Dark face first on the ground as the hitter dove out of the way. His last time at bat that night, Dark hit another home run against
Dave Jolly David Jolly (October 14, 1924 – May 27, 1963) was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. The , right-hander was a native of Stony Point, North Carolina. He was signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before the 1946 season. A ...
, but the Giants lost to the Braves by a score of 6–5. He had four-hit games on August 14 and September 1, but these both came in losses. In 1954, he batted .293 and was fifth in the MVP voting as the Giants won the pennant. He had 98 runs scored, 26 doubles, and 70 RBI. Dark led the NL in at bats (644) as well as games (tied for first with 154) and also finished seventh in hits (189). His 20 home runs made him the first NL shortstop to hit at least 20 home runs in multiple seasons. Defensively, though he led the league in errors (36), he provided solid play at the shortstop position. In the
1954 World Series The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Ind ...
, the Giants faced the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
, who had set an AL record with 111 wins.Hirsch, p. 190 Dark batted .412 with a
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
in every game. He had three hits and scored two runs in Game 4 as the Giants pulled off the sweep to win their first championship since 1933. In the World Series parade, Dark rode in the first car with
Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
in front of 500,000 parade-goers in New York City. On April 23, 1955, the Giants were playing the Dodgers at
Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...
.
Sal Maglie Salvatore Anthony Maglie (April 26, 1917 – December 28, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and later, a scout and a pitching coach. He played from 1945 to 1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New ...
had been throwing brushback pitches past the heads of several Brooklyn hitters, and irritated
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
Jackie Robinson took revenge by hitting Williams with a shoulder block as he charged into first base in the fourth inning. Williams was knocked unconscious and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, and Dark attempted to fight Robinson. Both benches cleared, but
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
Tom Gorman kept Dark from doing anything more than yelling. Between innings, Dark conferred with his teammates and issued a challenge: "Somebody's got to get him."Dark, p. 49 It was decided that the first runner to reach third base would be charged with this task. Next inning, Dark got a hit against
Carl Erskine Carl Daniel Erskine (born December 13, 1926) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching mainstay on Dodger team ...
and ran hard into Robinson at third base. The two exchanged words again, but umpire
Babe Pinelli Ralph Arthur "Babe" Pinelli, born Rinaldo Angelo Paolinelli (October 18, 1895 – October 22, 1984), was an American third baseman and umpire in Major League Baseball. Born in San Francisco, his playing career was mostly with the Cincinnati Reds ...
kept things from getting out of hand. On the following day, with the Giants trailing Brooklyn 5–3 in the ninth, Dark hit a two-run home run against
Billy Loes William Loes (December 13, 1929 – July 15, 2010) was an American right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1950, 1952–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59) and San Francis ...
to tie the game; the Giants won the next inning 11–10. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Cubs on May 15, Dark had four hits and scored two runs in a 9–4 victory. He hit a three-run home run against
Murry Dickson Murry Monroe Dickson (August 21, 1916 – September 21, 1989) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his vast array of pitches and del ...
on July 7 in an 8–5 victory over the Phillies. In the second game of a doubleheader against Cincinnati on August 7, Dark hurt his rib after colliding with first baseman
Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 wit ...
. He thought the injury was a bruise and tried to play again on August 14, but he had to leave that game early and was later diagnosed with a broken rib. The injury kept him out until September 1, but he only played two games upon his return before he tripped over a base in a game against the Phillies on September 2, separating his shoulder. That injury kept him out the rest of the season. Together, the injuries cost Dark 40 games. In 115 games, Dark batted .282 with 77 runs scored, 134 hits, 20 doubles, nine home runs, and 45 RBI. After the season, Dark was awarded the first
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off it. The award was created by the Phi Delta Theta fraternity in honor o ...
, given to the player who best exemplified Gehrig's character and integrity both on and off the field. Recovered from his injuries by 1956, Dark was back in the lineup for Opening Day. He batted .364 in April but only hit .222 in his next 37 games, through June 15. That June, the Giants were searching for a second baseman. Meanwhile, the Cardinals wanted a shortstop and also desired to trade second baseman
Red Schoendienst Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst (; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years wi ...
, as prospect
Don Blasingame Donald Lee Blasingame (March 16, 1932 – April 13, 2005), nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960 ...
seemed ready to take over the position and St. Louis wanted to trade the veteran before his skills declined. On June 14, Dark, Lockman,
Ray Katt Raymond Frederick Katt (May 9, 1927 – October 19, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball during the 1950s, and later became the longtime and highly successful head baseball c ...
,
Don Liddle Donald Eugene Liddle (May 25, 1925 – June 5, 2000) was an American left-handed pitcher in professional baseball who played four seasons in the Major Leagues for the Milwaukee Braves, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from 1953 through 1 ...
, and cash were traded to the Cardinals for Schoendienst,
Bill Sarni William Florine Sarni (September 19, 1927 – April 15, 1983) was an American professional baseball player who played as a catcher in the Major Leagues. A native of Los Angeles, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1951–1952, 1954–1956) and ...
,
Dick Littlefield Richard Bernard Littlefield (March 18, 1926 – November 20, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Card ...
,
Jackie Brandt John George Brandt Jr. (born April 28, 1934), is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals (), New York / San Francisco Giants (–), Baltimore Orioles (–), Philadelphia Ph ...
, and two
players to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
(eventually Bob Stephenson and Gordon Jones). In 48 games with the Giants, Dark batted .252 with 19 runs scored, 52 hits, two home runs, and 17 RBI.


Later years (1956–60)

Facing the Giants on July 12, 1956, Dark hit a seventh-inning sacrifice fly against
Marv Grissom Marvin Edward Grissom (March 31, 1918 – September 19, 2005) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. During his active career he appeared in 356 games in Major League Baseball for the New York / San Francisco Giants ...
to snap a 3–3 tie in a 5–3 victory. The next day, Dark had four hits and three RBI, including a tie-breaking two-run double in the eighth inning against
Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...
as the Cardinals defeated New York by a score of 7–5. In the third game of the series, he had three RBI in a 5–2 victory. Then, in the first game of a July 15 doubleheader against Philadelphia, he had three hits, two runs scored, and four RBI in St. Louis's 9–1 victory. On September 14, Dark had four hits and scored three runs, including a two-run home run against Mike McCormick, in a 9–4 victory over the Giants. In 100 games for St. Louis, Dark batted .286 with 54 runs scored, 118 hits, four home runs, and 37 RBI. His combined totals between the Giants and the Cardinals were a .275 batting average, 73 runs scored, 170 hits, 26 doubles, six home runs, and 54 RBI. By 1957, Dark's range was not as wide as it once had been; the season would be his last as a shortstop. "I got by knowing the hitters, knowing where to play, what to look for," he wrote in his autobiography. He hit only four home runs in 1957, three of which came against the Giants. In Game 1 of a doubleheader against Cincinnati on May 30, he had three RBI in a 7–2 victory. On June 11, he had four hits and an RBI in a 5–2 victory over the Phillies. He had four hits, two runs scored, and an RBI on July 3 in a 5–4 victory over the Cubs. On July 31, he had four hits and two RBI in a 5–1 victory over the Giants. He had three RBI in a 10–1 victory over the Braves on September 1. In 140 games, Dark batted .290 with 80 runs scored, 169 hits, 25 doubles, and 64 RBI. Despite his diminished range, he led the NL in putouts (276) and double plays (105) for the third time. Late in 1958 spring training, Dark had to be removed from a game after getting hit by a pitch from
Dick Donovan Richard Edward Donovan (December 7, 1927 – January 6, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Braves (1950–1952), Detroit Tigers (1954), Chicago White Sox (1955–1960), Washington Senators (1961) and ...
, but he was back in the lineup by Opening Day. He started the year at shortstop but, after making two errors in his first four games, was moved to third base in favor of
Ducky Schofield John Richard "Ducky" Schofield (January 7, 1935 – July 11, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco ...
. After batting .297 in 18 games, Dark was traded to the Cubs on May 20 for
Jim Brosnan James Patrick Brosnan (October 24, 1929 – June 28, 2014) was an American baseball player and author who played in Major League Baseball in 1954 and from 1956 through 1963. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 385 games, largely in relief, ...
. After the trade to the Cubs, Dark continued to play third base, as Banks was the shortstop. He had three hits, three RBI, and a run scored on May 23 in an 11–4 victory over the Phillies. On June 20, he had four hits and three RBI in an 11–3 victory over Cincinnati. Two days later, in the second game of a doubleheader against Cincinnati, he had two hits and three RBI in an 8–6 victory. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Phillies on July 13, he had four hits and scored both Cub runs in a 2–1 victory. His two-RBI single against Don Erickson in the 10th inning on September 16 snapped an 8–8 tie in a 10–8 victory over the Phillies. In 114 games with the Cubs, Dark batted .295 with 54 runs scored, 137 hits, 16 doubles, three home runs, and 43 RBI. He played 132 games combined for both teams, batting .295 with 61 runs scored, 156 hits, 16 doubles, four homes runs, and 48 RBI. In 1959, Dark remained at third base. He had three hits, scored three runs, and had two RBI on May 13 in a 10–0 win over Cincinnati. On June 30, in a game against the Cardinals, Dark had a role in one of baseball history's most unusual plays. Musial was at the plate, with a count of 3–1. Pitcher Bob Anderson threw a wild pitch that evaded
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
Sammy Taylor and rolled all the way to the backstop. Umpire
Vic Delmore Victor "Deacon" Delmore (October 21, 1915 – June 10, 1960) was a baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1956 to 1959. He is perhaps best known for his involvement in an incident during a 1959 game where two baseballs were in play ...
called ball four, but Anderson and Taylor contended that Musial
foul tip In baseball, a foul tip is defined as "a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught, and any foul tip that is caught is a strike and the ball is 'in play'." A ''fou ...
ped the ball. As the ball was still in play, and because Delmore was embroiled in an argument with the catcher and pitcher, Musial decided to try to advance to second base. Seeing that Musial was trying for second, Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball. A ball boy had tossed it towards field announcer
Pat Pieper Frank "Pat" Pieper (February 17, 1886 – October 22, 1974) served as the Chicago Cubs field (public address) announcer from 1916 to 1974, a span of 59 years. Vendor at West Side Park Pieper (pronounced "Piper") was born February 17, 1886 in H ...
, who was in charge of holding baseballs for the umpire, but Dark picked it up before it could get to Pieper. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore pulled out a new ball and gave it to Taylor. Anderson finally noticed that Musial was trying for second, took the new ball, and threw it to second baseman Tony Taylor. Anderson's throw flew over Tony Taylor's head into the outfield. Dark, at the same time that Anderson threw the new ball, threw the original ball to Banks. Musial did not see Dark's throw and tried to go to third base, having seen Anderson's ball fly over the second baseman's head. On his way there, he was tagged by Banks, and after a delay, Musial was ruled out. Still, the Cardinals won the game by a score of 4–1. Dark hit only six home runs in 1959, three of which came in consecutive games from August 11–13. In the third, on August 13, the home run was a grand slam against McCormick in a 20–9 victory over the Giants. His two-run double against
Jack Sanford John Stanley Sanford (May 18, 1929 – March 7, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Sanford was notable for the meteoric start to his career when, he led ...
provided the only runs for Chicago in a 2–1 victory over the Giants on September 4. On September 26, he hit a three-run home run against Podres in a 12–2 victory over the Dodgers. In 136 games, he batted .264 with 60 runs scored, 126 hits, 22 doubles, a career-high nine triples, and 45 RBI. On January 11, 1960, Dark was traded with
John Buzhardt John William Buzhardt (August 17, 1936 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and ...
and Jim Woods to the Phillies in exchange for Ashburn. "Trades tell you exactly which side of the hill you're on," he wrote in his 1980 autobiography, contrasting this deal with the trade that sent him and Stanky to New York, where four players were given up for those two.Dark, p. 67 He began the year as Philadelphia's starting third baseman. Facing the Braves in the second game of the year, on April 14, he notched his 2,000th hit, a single against
Don McMahon Donald John McMahon (January 4, 1930 – July 22, 1987) was a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was signed by the Boston Braves before the 1950 season. He played for the Milwaukee Braves (1957 ...
in a 10-inning, 5–4 victory. He hit back-to-back home runs against the Dodgers on May 6 and 7. After hitting .242 in 55 games, Dark was traded back to the Braves (now in Milwaukee) on June 23 for
Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...
. With Milwaukee, he served as a pinch hitter and
utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...
. In September, he got most of the starts for the Braves in left field. He appeared in his last major league game on October 2, playing left field in a 9–5 loss to Pittsburgh. Dark hit .298 in 50 games for Milwaukee. In 105 games combined between the teams, he batted .265 with 45 runs scored, 90 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs, and 32 RBI. After the season, Braves manager
Charlie Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Retro ...
told Dark that if he returned for the 1961 season, "you'll be my utility infielder-outfielder." To Dark, playing the game was becoming more of an occupation than a joy, and he feared being sent to the minor leagues. Rather than try to hang on another year as a player, he decided to retire. Over a 14-year major league career, Dark recorded a .289 career batting average, 2,089 hits, 358 doubles, 126 home runs, 1,064 runs scored, and 757 RBI over 1,828 games played. Defensively, he recorded a .959
fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
.


Manager

Dark was traded back to the Giants (who had moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season) for
Andre Rodgers Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers (December 2, 1934 – December 13, 2004) was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the New York / San Francisco Giants (1957–60), Chicago Cubs (1961–64), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1965–67). He also played ...
on October 30, 1960, a move made so the team could hire Dark as their new manager. Giants owner
Horace Stoneham Horace Charles Stoneham ( ; April 27, 1903 – January 7, 1990) was an American Major League Baseball executive and the owner of the New York / San Francisco Giants from 1936 to 1976. Inheriting the Giants, then one of the most prominent franch ...
tried to fill coaching vacancies with former Giants players, rewarding loyalty to the organization. Upon becoming manager of the Giants, one of the first things Dark did was rearrange the team's locker assignments so that players were no longer grouped by race. Tex Maule of ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' wrote in May 1961, "the Giants are no longer a conglomerate of stars, divided roughly along color lines, with no sense of being a team." During a fit of rage following a 1–0 loss to the Phillies on June 26, Dark threw a metal stool against the wall, then realized he'd lost part of the tip of his little finger. "I made up my mind two weeks ago not to take my anger out on the players. So, I guess I took it out on myself tonight," he quipped. In his first year as manager of the Giants, Dark oversaw a team that finished third in the NL with an 85–69 record. During the 1962 season, the Giants battled the Dodgers for the NL pennant, as both teams occupied the top two spots in the league starting May 10. One sore spot in the rivalry concerned infield dirt. The Dodgers used to pack the dirt at
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...
tightly, creating a hard infield that made it easier for
Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...
, who would steal 104 bases in 1962, to run on. When Dark's complaints fell on deaf ears, he decided to get revenge at
Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...
. Before a Dodger series with three weeks to go in the season, Dark had the groundskeepers soak the infield around first base; the muddy soil prevented anybody from getting enough of a foothold to steal bases. For the incident, Dark earned the nickname "The Swamp Fox." The Dodgers had a four-game lead with seven games to go in the season, but San Francisco pulled into a tie on the final day of the season, necessitating another tie-breaker series. Prevailing in three games, the Giants faced the Yankees in the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. In a nailbiter, the teams forced the series all the way to its maximum seven games, with the Giants losing 1–0 in the series finale after
Bobby Richardson Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he fo ...
snared a
Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...
line drive that likely would have won the series for the Giants had it been a hit. Dark had a rocky relationship with
Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...
, one of the Giants' most popular players. During 1963 spring training, while Cepeda was refusing to play in hopes of getting a higher-paying contract, Dark revealed to the press that he had a point system by which he rated the players. When asked about Cepeda, Dark responded, "He's got more minuses than anybody."Dark, p. 92 "It may have been unfair for me to bring it up," Dark admitted later. The two squabbled over the next two seasons about Cepeda's supposed lack of hustle, with the player blaming a sore knee. In 1963, the Giants had a winning record all season but did not fare quite as well as in 1962, winning 11 fewer games and finishing 11 games behind the Dodgers for the pennant. In 1964, Dark named
Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
the captain of the Giants, making Mays the first African-American captain in Major League Baseball. "You should have had it long before this," Dark told the player. ''Sports Illustrated'' reported on July 6 that Stoneham was thinking of firing Dark amidst rumors that the two were not speaking. Dark later wrote in his autobiography that his relationship with Stoneham had been rocky ever since Stoneham discovered in 1963 that the manager was having an affair. "You can't handle your ball players if you can't handle yourself," he had told Dark. "You've got rules you are breaking."Dark, p. 106 On July 23, Dark became embroiled in controversy when Stan Isaacs of ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' quoted him as saying the number of black and Hispanic players on the team was a source of trouble: "They are just not able to perform up to the white player when it comes to mental alertness."Hirsch, p. 418 Dark responded that he had been severely misquoted;Hirsch, p. 420 Mays, whom he had named as team captain, met with several of the black and Hispanic players at the Carlton House in Pittsburgh (where the Giants were on a road trip) and calmed the team, reminding them that their best chance of winning came if Dark remained the manager the rest of the year. "I have known Dark for many years, and my relationships with him have always been exceptional," said Jackie Robinson. "I have found him to be a gentleman and, above all, unbiased." Dark considered suing the paper, but decided not to after he was told that ''Newsday'' would respond by publicizing his affair with Jackie Troy. "You don't have to be prejudiced if you are accused of it," Dark later wrote in his autobiography. "The accusation convicts you every time." The Giants were contenders for the pennant most of the season, and they ended the year just three games out of first place; however, in 1964, that was fourth place in a close three-way race. Stoneham fired Dark during the sixth inning of the last game of the season, after the Giants had been eliminated from playoff contention. After his dismissal from the Giants, Dark became a third base
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
for the Cubs in 1965. He made it clear to the
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
John Holland that he was not interested in becoming the Cubs' manager, as he found the notion of coaching under a current manager while being readied to replace him "offensive." With a month to go in the season, Dark was hired as an assistant to
Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...
owner
Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas C ...
. After the season, he was named manager of the last-place Athletics, who had lost 103 games in 1965. The ballclub lost 14 of its first 17 games in 1966 but was one game under .500 for the rest of the year, resulting in a 15-game improvement and a seventh-place finish in the ten-team American League. As the season progressed, Dark made sure he utilized the young starting pitchers to get them experience; entering the 1967 season, the Athletics had five starters with an average age of 21.8. Their seventh-place finish in 1966 was Kansas City's finest since Finley had purchased the team, and the grateful owner rewarded Dark with a
Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
after the season. Their record was not quite as good in 1967, as Dark piloted them to a 52–69 record in their first 131 games. His second season with the Athletics ended in August, due to a disagreement over player discipline after Finley fined and suspended pitcher
Lew Krausse Jr. Lewis Bernard Krausse Jr. (April 25, 1943February 16, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewe ...
for his behavior on a team flight. Dark believed, after talking to several of the other players, that Krausse had been playing little pranks on Athletics broadcaster
Monte Moore Monte Moore (born 1930) is an American former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams. Voice of the Athletics An Oklahoma native, with a folksy, down-home style, Moore became the lea ...
, who then falsely reported to Finley that Krausse used "deplorable language" when talking to a pregnant woman on the flight. Because Dark refused to carry out the suspension, Finley asked to see him at his hotel room in Washington, D.C., where the Athletics had gone for a road trip against the Washington Senators.Dark, pp. 128-29 In a seven-hour meeting, Finley fired his manager, decided to rehire him, then fired him again when he was presented with a player's statement backing Dark and criticizing Finley's use of spies to keep tabs on the players. Additionally, Finley released
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
Ken Harrelson Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941), nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is an American former professional baseball All-Star first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 197 ...
, who had also stood up for Krausse. Harrelson dubbed Finley "a menace to the sport." Despite the dismissal, Dark remained in correspondence with Finley, who would often make long-distance phone calls to his ex-manager. Dark was hired to manage the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
in 1968 by
Vernon Stouffer Vernon Bigelow Stouffer (August 22, 1901 – July 26, 1974) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist & businessman. Stouffer graduated from The Wharton School in 1923. He was the founder and president of the Stouffer Hotels Co., Stouffer Fr ...
; the Indians had an 86–75 record in his first year, their best performance since 1959.
Sam McDowell Samuel Edward Thomas McDowell (born September 21, 1942), is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from 1961 to 1975, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. A six-time All-Star, ...
theorized that the team would have had an even better year if they had gotten more hits with runners in scoring position. After an initial third-place season, Dark requested and was given the additional duties of
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
, but having the field manager negotiate the players' contracts proved an untenable situation. Dark eventually concluded that the same person should not hold both roles, because the general manager's job is to make the player think he is worth less money, while the manager's job is to make him think he is more valuable to the team. Over the next two seasons, the team slumped to a 62–99 record in 1969 and a 76–86 finish in 1970. With the team in last place in the
AL East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...
in mid-1971 and attendance down by 60,000, Dark was fired on July 29. Because he had signed a five-year contract with the team in 1969, Cleveland had to continue to pay him through the 1973 season. In the meantime, the Athletics had moved to Oakland, and after manager
Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...
resigned following consecutive
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
triumphs in 1972–73, Finley rehired Dark. A newscaster reporting on the move quipped, "The only thing worse than being hired by Charlie Finley is being hired by him a second time." Now taking his religion more seriously, Dark promised not to complain about players in public or demean them. Dark's hiring was met with resentment by some of the Athletics coaches, such as
Irv Noren Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kansas C ...
, the third base coach, who had hoped to be hired as manager himself. Noren and
Vern Hoscheit Vernard Arthur Hoscheit (April 1, 1922 – June 11, 2007) was an American professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager. He served as a coach on four World Series championship Major League Baseball (MLB) teams with the Oakland Athletics and N ...
, the bullpen coach, were replaced in July. Dark also had trouble earning the respect of Athletics pitchers such as
Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...
and
Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitche ...
. Frequently, when he went out to the mound to replace the starter, the pitchers would disrespectfully flip the baseball to him instead of handing it over. In July, Dark had finally had enough. "I made up my mind to have a squad meeting n July 14at the park," he said. In the speech, he criticized the team for their attitudes, fining Blue $250. Blue paid the fine in change: "I had a big old money bag that probably weighed about 75 pounds." The speech helped the players to be more responsive to Dark, and though they would get
no-hit In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
days later by
Dick Bosman Richard Allen Bosman (born February 17, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1966–73), Cleveland Indians (1973–75), and Oakland Athl ...
of the Indians, they went on to win the
AL West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...
. In the AL Championship Series (ALCS), the Athletics defeated the Orioles three games to one, holding Baltimore scoreless for 30 straight innings during the series. The series victory sent Oakland to the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
and made Dark the third manager (after
Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...
and
Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...
) at the time to win pennants in both leagues. (
Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...
,
Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...
,
Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...
,
Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the ...
, and
Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...
have since accomplished that feat.) In the World Series, the Athletics faced the Dodgers in the first World Series composed of only California teams. Oakland won the series in five games, becoming the first team to win three consecutive World Series since the Yankees won five straight from 1949 to 1953. Entering the 1975 season, the Athletics had to cope with the loss of pitcher
Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...
, winner of 20 or more games four straight seasons, who had used a contract breach to become a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
and sign with the Yankees. Still, the team posted a 55–32 record in the first half of the season, and seven Athletics were part of the AL All-Star Team, managed by Dark. The team won the AL West by seven games over the runner-up
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
; however, they were swept in the ALCS by the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. Though they made the playoffs both years under Dark, he was not re-hired as the Athletics manager in 1976. During a church talk that September, Dark had said, "To God, Charlie Finley is just a very little, bitty thing. If he doesn't accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he's going to hell." When Finley announced Dark would not return for 1976, he stated that the manager was "too busy with church activities." Dark spent 1976 out of baseball for the first time in 30 years. He was hired as a coach for the Cubs in 1977, working under
Herman Franks Herman Louis Franks (January 4, 1914 – March 30, 2009) was a catcher, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager, general manager (baseball), general manager and scout (sports), scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in Price, Ut ...
, who had coached under and later replaced Dark as the manager of the Giants. While Dark had been disappointed at the replacement, the men had remained friends and were happy to work together again. His tenure with the Cubs was short-lived, as on May 28, he was hired to replace John McNamara as manager of the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
. The Padres, who had a 21–28 record when he took over, had a 48–65 record for the rest of the season. Dark's contract called for him to manage for two years, but general manager
Buzzie Bavasi Emil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi (; December 12, 1914 – May 1, 2008) was an American executive in Major League Baseball who played a major role in the operation of three franchises from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s. He was best known as the ...
was replaced with Bob Fontaine Sr. in 1978, and Fontaine preferred someone other than Dark to manage the ballclub. In the midst of spring training, on March 21, Dark was fired, replaced by Roger Craig. It was only the second time that a major league manager had been fired during spring training. Because his contract ran through 1979, the Padres still had to pay him for two years, much like the Indians had been obligated to do from 1971 to 1973. Dark ended his managerial career with a 994–954 record, good for a .510 winning percentage. During games he managed, Dark would stand in the front of his team's dugout with one foot up on the steps, drawing comparisons to Washington crossing the Delaware. He went beyond traditional statistics in evaluating players, using a point system to determine who his best were. Hits in key situations or hits that advanced a runner garnered points for players, but miscues such as overrunning a base or ignoring a sign would lead to a deduction. "There are winning .275 hitters and losing .310 hitters," Dark said of his system. Cepeda had a rather low score, which annoyed the player once he found out about it. Later in his managerial career, Dark stopped using the system, not wanting to cause resentment. Though Dark never managed again after 1978 spring training, he did hold two other baseball positions. In 1981, the Cubs hired him to be their farm system evaluator. Later, in 1986, the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
hired him to be their minor league director. He was thrilled that the White Sox were hiring former major league players to coach minor league teams, something not often seen at the time.


Managerial record


Legacy

"Dark was a great hit-and-run guy, and very tough to strike out,"
Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to th ...
, shortstop for the Yankees in the early 1950s, recalled. "And he was a fiery ballplayer. He got into more fights than either Pee Wee or me." Richard Goldstein of ''The New York Times'' observed that, of the "three superb shortstops" in New York following the war, Dark had the best batting average and the most home runs, even though he is the only one not in the Hall of Fame.
Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
said he was a "
Red Rolfe Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Rolfe also was an Ivy Leaguer: a graduate, then long- ...
type of hitter," noting that Dark could "bunt or drag, hit behind the runner, or push the ball to the opposite field," which made him useful in the number two position in the batting lineup. In a 1969 poll, Giants fans selected Dark as the greatest shortstop in team history. According to baseball writer
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...
, Dark may have lost a
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
career due to his debut being delayed by his military service. In 1976, Dark was inducted into the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...
. Five years later, he was elected to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Alvin Dark Avenue, located just south of LSU's campus in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
, is named after him. Dark made an uncredited appearance in ''
The Kid from Cleveland ''The Kid from Cleveland'' is a 1949 sports film, sports drama film starring George Brent, Lynn Bari and Russ Tamblyn, directed by Herbert Kline, and released by Republic Pictures. The real-life Indians had just won the 1948 World Series, and m ...
'' in 1949, as one of the Boston Braves shown in the film. Fifty-two years later, his 1961 ''
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...
'' baseball card was featured in the 2001 film ''
Skipped Parts ''Skipped Parts'' is a 2000 American coming of age comedy-drama film directed by Tamra Davis. The film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bug Hall, Mischa Barton, Brad Renfro and Drew Barrymore, reprising her role from ''Motorama (film), Motorama'' (1 ...
'', being thrown into a fire as part of a rite of passage/growing up event between a stern grandfather ( R. Lee Ermey) and his grandson (
Bug Hall Brandon "Bug" Hall (born February 4, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood roles as Alfalfa Switzer in ''The Little Rascals'' (1994), Newt Shaw in ''The Big Green'' (1995), and Buster Stupid in ''The Stupids'' (1996). ...
).


Personal life

Dark was married twice. His first wife, Adrienne Managan, was his childhood sweetheart; the two had grown up going to the same church. They had four children: Allison, Gene, Eve, and Margaret. In 1962, however, he met Jacolyn Troy while she was serving as an airline stewardess on a flight he was on. Although it went against his Christian beliefs, he began having an affair with her. They tried multiple times to break it off, and Dark even told his wife about it in December 1962. This led to the Darks moving back to Lake Charles after the 1963 season, so Adrienne could be nearer her family in case the couple got divorced, though Robert Boyle of ''Sports Illustrated'' thought the move meant that Dark was trying to become manager of the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
. Finally, in November 1968, Adrienne filed for legal separation from Dark, as couples in Louisiana had to be legally separated for 14 months before they could get a divorce. The divorce was finalized early in the 1970 baseball season, and Alvin married Jackie the same day he signed the last divorce papers. Though he believed divorce was sinful, "we just weren't letting God get in our way," he said of his decision to remarry. "There are people in Lake Charles who have not spoken to me since, much less forgiven me," Dark wrote in 1980. After some initial struggles, Alvin and Jackie developed a happy marriage by 1974 and stayed together for 44 years until Alvin's death in 2014. Jackie had two children from a previous marriage, Rusty and Lori, whom Dark adopted as his own in October 1970. Dark's nickname was "Blackie." A Baptist, Dark had a reputation as a devout Christian. He said his parents took him to church "ever since I was old enough to breathe." During the 1960s, when he had the affair and his marriage fell apart, Dark wrote that "I had found it easier not to go to church. Easier not to take my Bible on road trips. Easier to jump on a player, or to cuss an umpire." After his time with the Indians, he began to take his faith more seriously when he started attending a Bible study with his wife. He would often quote scripture during press conferences. Dark also used to present his Christian testimony at churches, though he quit doing so from 1963 through the early 1970s because of his divorce. Finley once instructed Dark to "lay off the Bible," but the unpredictable Finley also once asked Dark to talk about his faith at a Chicago restaurant. Dark was a member of the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...
. Dark was good friends with Stanky, his roommate when the two played together on the Braves and Giants. As players, both dreamed of managing major league teams one day, and Dark spoke highly of Stanky's baseball intelligence. "Stanky knew so much more about the game than anybody else. If there were ten possible percentage plays to make, most guys would know four or five. Stanky would know ten." After their careers, the two did not correspond as much; Dark speculated this was because of the divorce, as Stanky was a devout
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Dark's career in the major leagues as a player and manager spanned over 30 seasons. "Baseball is his life," said
Lee Walls Raymond Lee Walls Jr. (January 6, 1933 – October 11, 1993) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds ...
, who was Dark's roommate with the Cubs. "He lives, breathes and talks baseball most of the time." During offseasons, Dark would supplement his income by working for the Magabar Mud Company, which provided oil drillers with mud. Dark enjoyed
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, and Maule called him the best baseball-playing golfer "with the possible exception of... Paul Richards." He played in the Bing Crosby National Pro-Amateur in
Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf cou ...
, 12 times; and he also played in
Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic The Honda Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic, and prior to a schedule change in 2021 was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winte ...
in
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, 77 miles north of downtown Miami. , the population was 59,182. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6 ...
. After his dismissal from the Indians, he briefly played for money, charging as much as $100 for someone to play against him. In 1980, Dark penned an autobiography (with John Underwood) entitled ''When in Doubt, Fire the Manager'', published by
E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...
, the back cover of which included endorsements by
Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...
and Gene Mauch. In 1983, Dark and Jackie moved to
Easley, South Carolina Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the State of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County. In 2001, Easley hosted the Big League ...
, where they would live for the rest of their lives. He started the Alvin Dark Foundation, which gives money to Christian ministries. On November 13, 2014, Dark died at his home in Easley, from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
, at the age of 92. He was survived by his second wife, his children, 20 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Below is the list of the 286 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in bold face are active as of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. Key List *Stats updated through the 2022 season. Through the end of the ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders In baseball, a doubles is recorded when the ball is hit so that the batter is able to advance to second base without an error by a defensive player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the leader in each league (American League and National League) ...


References


Bibliography

*''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated. . * * *


External links


Alvin Dark
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dark, Alvin 1922 births 2014 deaths National League All-Stars American Christian writers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Baseball managers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Boston Braves players Chicago Cubs players Chicago Cubs coaches Cleveland Indians managers Cleveland Indians executives Kansas City Athletics managers LSU Tigers baseball players LSU Tigers basketball players LSU Tigers football players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players Baseball players from Oklahoma Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Braves players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players New York Giants (NL) players Oakland Athletics managers Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres managers San Francisco Giants managers St. Louis Cardinals players Deaths from Alzheimer's disease People from Comanche, Oklahoma Da American men's basketball players United States Marine Corps officers Deaths from dementia in South Carolina