Robert Boden Scheffing (August 11, 1913 – October 26, 1985) was an American professional

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 ...

player,

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 ...

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 ...

and front-office executive. Nicknamed "Grumpy", the native of

Overland, Missouri Overland is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,062 at the 2010 census. History The area south of the King's Road to St. Charles was first settled in the early 1820s, when travelers westward from St. Louis ...

, is most often identified with 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 ...

, for whom he played as a

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 ...

(1941–42, 1946–50), coached (1954–55), and managed (1957–59). Scheffing threw and batted right-handed; he was listed as tall and .

Playing career

He started playing baseball at

Ritenour High School Ritenour High School is a public high school in Breckenridge Hills, St. Louis County, Missouri that is part of the Ritenour School District. Activities For the 2013–2014 school year, the school offered 25 activities approved by the Missou ...

. His professional career began in 1935 in 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 ...

' farm system, but he was unable to crack the Major Leagues until he was selected by the Cubs in the 1940 Rule 5 draft. En route, he spent the 1939 season as the 25-year-old playing manager of the Washington Red Birds of the Class D

Pennsylvania State Association The Pennsylvania State Association was a class D level league of minor league baseball that existed from 1934 until 1942. The league franchised were entirely based in Western Pennsylvania. History The Pennsylvania State Association was compos ...

. He also served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

between 1943 and 1945 in

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 ...

's Pacific Theatre. Over the course of his eight-year MLB playing career, Scheffing batted .263 with 357 hits in 517

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

with the Cubs,

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 ...

(1950–51) and Cardinals (1951).

Manager of Cubs and Tigers

Scheffing April 1957 BB Digest cover (cropped)

As a full-time manager, Scheffing led the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

to 107 victories and the 1956 PCL championship, and was promoted to skipper of the parent Cubs the following season. In three full years at the Cubs' helm, Scheffing compiled a 208–254 (.450) record. His 1957 team finished 62–92 and tied for seventh place in the eight-team

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 ...

, but his 1958 and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

clubs won 72 and 74 games respectively and finished tied for fifth place each season. Scheffing also spent 2 years (1961–June 16, 1963) as manager of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Taking over a sixth-place

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

, he led the 1961 Tigers to 101 victories and second 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 ...

. Although the Tigers eventually finished eight games out of first place, they led the league until July 25 and battled the world champion

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 ...

for the pennant until a devastating three-game sweep at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

in early September. The 1962 Tigers won 16 fewer games than 1961's team, and finished fourth. Then the 1963 club got off to a poor start (24–36) and was in ninth place in the ten-team league when Scheffing was replaced on June 18 by

Chuck 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 Retr ...

. Although Scheffing's mark with the Tigers was 210–173 (.548), his career managerial record fell nine games short of .500, at 418–427 (.495). As a

, Scheffing also served with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1952–53) and

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

(1960, under Dressen), in addition to his tenure with the Cubs.

Mets' general manager

After working as a Detroit scout and radio broadcaster, Scheffing succeeded

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 ...

as player personnel director with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in December 1965. He was promoted to

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 ...

on January 19, , five days after the death of his predecessor

Johnny Murphy John Joseph Murphy (July 14, 1908 – January 14, 1970) was an All-Star American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (1932, 1934–43, 1946–47) who later became a front office executive in the game. Yankees' relief ace After ...

. The Mets won the

pennant during his tenure, then fell in a seven-game

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 ...

to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. Scheffing's tenure as Mets general manager is most noted for his trade in which

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

was one of four players sent to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for

Jim Fregosi James Louis Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played for the ...

on December 10, . Ryan went on to set the all-time career

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

record and earn a place in the

Baseball Hall of Fame 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 ...

, while Fregosi struggled in New York. Scheffing was replaced by Joe McDonald as Mets' GM on October 2, 1974, although he continued in the organization as 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 ...

. He died in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, at the age of 72.Ex-Manager Scheffing dies at 72
/ref>

References

External links

Baseball Reference
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffing, Bob 1913 births 1985 deaths Albany Travelers players Baseball coaches from Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs managers Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Red Birds players Decatur Commodores players Detroit Tigers announcers Detroit Tigers managers Detroit Tigers scouts Greensburg Red Wings players Greenwood Chiefs players Houston Buffaloes players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) managers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball general managers Milwaukee Braves coaches Mobile Shippers players New York Mets executives New York Mets scouts Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Browns coaches St. Louis Cardinals players Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War II Washington Red Birds players

Playing career

Manager of Cubs and Tigers

Mets' general manager

See also

References

External links