When I was a kid, I loved and lived baseball. I not only played it for over 13 of my first 18 years, but I also studied its history. I learned the names of forgotten stars from decades past, read baseball books when they were available, and read the 2580-page Baseball Encyclopedia a few times through, which is solely comprised of statistics. I scoured thousands of stats, learned about the greats from every generation, and created many, many lists – best teams, best seasons, best in each decade, by position, by era, and so forth. Basically, I was a nerd about baseball.
One of my goals in life is to coach a high school baseball team – or be an assistant coach. While talking about it not too long ago, I vowed that if I ever did manage a high school bench, instead of wearing a uniform like the players, I would dress in a suit – like Connie Mack.
Born in 1862, Connie Mack played in the late 1800s and managed until 1950. Yes, those dates are right. He holds the record for most wins, losses, and games as a major league manager. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame while still a manager, in 1937. He won five World Series and nine American League pennants, mostly with the Philadelphia Athletics.
He was known as a contradiction in personality, but “gentleman” comes up a lot. Taking a look at his career in baseball, and him in his trademark suits, “class” is obvious. A saint of our national pastime, and not a bad dresser to boot, here are a few pictures of Mr. Mack just in time for baseball season.
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