Leo Alexander Fohl (November 28, 1876 – October 30, 1965) was an American

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 ...

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), ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Lowell, Ohio Lowell is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. The population was 549 at the 2010 census. The village is located about 7.6 miles north of Marietta, Ohio. History The first European settlers to the lan ...

, Fohl's involvement in professional baseball began in the early 1900s, when he served 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 ...

for minor-league clubs in Ohio. His subsequent major-league playing career consisted of just five games as a catcher and 17 at-bats over two seasons. In

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

, he took over as manager of the Indians, with his best finish coming in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

when the Tribe finished in second place behind the Red Sox. He never made an important move, however, without consulting

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career bat ...

, who arrived via a trade with Boston in the same year Fohl took over. In

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

, Fohl resigned as the Indians' manager after 78 games, and Speaker stepped in as manager for the remainder of the season. Fohl resurfaced in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

with the Browns, where in 1922 the team was only eliminated from the pennant race on the penultimate game of the season, finishing just one game behind the New York Yankees. When the 1923 Browns fell back closer (but still above) .500, he was fired in midseason. In

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

, he joined the Red Sox, where he finished his managerial career on a dismal note; his Red Sox teams never finished higher than seventh place. (In fact, he was the only man to manage in the American League between 1924 and 1926 and not be enshrined in the

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 ...

.) He finished with a 713-792 (.474 winning percentage) as manager. He managed the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

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

in 1927, but was fired mid-way through the season. He died in

Brooklyn, Ohio Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 11,359 at the 2020 census. Geography Brooklyn is located at (41.435357, -81.744457). According to the United States Census Bureau, the ci ...

at age 88.Ex-Indians Manager, Fohl, dies
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Managerial record

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com
– career managing record * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fohl, Lee 1876 births 1965 deaths Baseball managers Cleveland Indians managers St. Louis Browns managers Boston Red Sox managers Pittsburgh Pirates players Cincinnati Reds players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers Ohio State League Managers Des Moines Undertakers players Binghamton Bingoes players Youngstown Ohio Works players Columbus Senators players Lima Cigarmakers players Akron Champs players Akron Rubbermen players Huntington Blue Sox players Waterbury Contenders players People from Brooklyn, Ohio People from Washington County, Ohio Baseball coaches from Ohio