Fred Melvin McGaha ( ; September 26, 1926 – February 3, 2002) was an American

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 ...

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 ...

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), ...

as well as a professional

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 ...

player. Born in

Bastrop, Louisiana Bastrop is a city in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. It is the parish seat of Morehouse Parish. The population was 11,365 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 1,623 from the 12,988 tabulation of 2000. The population of Bastrop is 73 percent African A ...

, he stood tall and weighed . McGaha graduated from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

and played a season of professional

with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Manager of Indians and Athletics

He signed his first baseball contract with 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 ...

in 1948. An

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who batted and threw right-handed, McGaha never played in the Major Leagues. However, he achieved great success as a

minor league 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 Nor ...

manager. At 27, he became a playing skipper in 1954 in the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, leading the

Shreveport Sports The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the ...

to 90 victories and a regular-season pennant in his first season, and then to 87 wins and a playoff title the following year. In 1959, his

Mobile Bears The Mobile Bears were an American minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. The franchise was a member of the old Southern Association, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the ''Sea G ...

won the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

championship and 89 regular-season games. Then, in 1960, McGaha led the Triple-A

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 ...

to 100 victories and 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 ...

's Governors' Cup playoff championship. In 1961, he was promoted to a coaching position with the parent

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 ...

, then became their manager at age 35 in , succeeding Jimmie Dykes. McGaha was fired with two games remaining in his maiden season with Cleveland at 78–82 in sixth place in the ten-team

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 ...

. In 1963, McGaha became a coach for the

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 ...

. In June 1964, with the Athletics in last place under manager

Eddie Lopat Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager, front office executive, and scout (sport), scout. He was sometimes known a ...

, 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 ...

, known for his quick trigger finger in hiring and firing, abruptly shifted McGaha into the Kansas City front office; then, a few days later, moved him back onto the field as Lopat's successor. The A's revived somewhat, but still finished in last place. McGaha was fired by Finley in on May 15, 1965, season after a 5–21 start; on that day, his team was still locked in the league basement, 13 games out of the lead.''Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman'', p.92, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, He was replaced by

Haywood Sullivan Haywood Cooper Sullivan (December 15, 1930 – February 12, 2003) was an American college and professional baseball player who was a catcher, manager, general manager and club owner in Major League Baseball. From May 23, 1978, through Novembe ...

. In part of three seasons as a Major League manager, McGaha posted a 123–173 record (.416). Following his big-league managing career, he worked for 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 ...

as pilot of the Triple-A

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

(1966–67) and

MLB 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), ...

first-base coach (1968–70).

Managerial record

Basketball coach

In addition to his baseball managing, McGaha also spent two years as the head men's basketball coach at Arkansas A&M College (now the

University of Arkansas at Monticello The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a public university in Monticello, Arkansas with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the University of Arkansas System and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degrees ...

), serving as the head coach in 1953-54 and 1954–55. He posted a 32–15 (.681) record during his two years as the Boll Weevils' head coach.

Personal life

McGaha was a member of the 1948

Duluth Dukes The Duluth Dukes was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Duluth, Minnesota, in the Northern League from 1935 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1955. In addition, a separate edition of the Dukes was one of four franc ...

and was one of the survivors of a July 24 bus crash in which four players and their manager were killed in a head-on accident with a truck. He died in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, at age 75.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com
– career managing record

@ basketballreference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGaha, Mel 1926 births 2002 deaths American men's basketball players Arkansas–Monticello Boll Weevils basketball coaches Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Baseball players from Louisiana Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians managers Columbus Red Birds players Duluth Dukes players Houston Astros coaches Houston Buffaloes players Kansas City Athletics coaches Kansas City Athletics managers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Mobile Bears players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players People from Bastrop, Louisiana Point guards Shreveport Sports players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) managers Winston-Salem Cardinals players