Happy Halloween folks! Anybody who dresses up as our inductee today gets triple the candy at my parents’ house than they would if they dressed up as something cliché like a witch, goblin, ghost, grim reaper or eggplant. (Seriously, if I had a quarter for every time I’ve seen one of those stupid eggplant costumes…well, actually, I still wouldn’t have enough money to play the claw game once at Denny’s) But I digress.
Wow, what a great intro for our hero today, Mr. Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr.! (1862-1956) The man better known as Connie Mack is a baseball legend. McGillicuddy is the longest-serving manager in baseball history, holding the record for wins, losses and games managed. Heck, the guy managed the Philadelphia A’s for their first 50 seasons! Fifty! He retired at the ripe old age of 87, in 1950. Well, it helped that he owned or partly-owned the A’s for all those years, but his incredible feat is still pretty incredible. Mack managed the A’s to five World Series victories, nine AL pennants, and get this…17 last place finishes. The man also played in his fair share of games, racking up a respectable 659 hits in a career spanning from 1886-1896. Mack was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937.
The Tall Tactician had beautiful eyebrows and a stylish top hat.
Nicknamed “the Tall Tactician,” Mack was praised for his intelligent managing, and he had a love for smart, disciplined, motivated players. He also did not drink and preferred his players refrain as well, but was a bit of an easygoing manager, putting up with players such as the wacky but exceptional Rube Waddell because it was in the best interest of the team (even if Waddell’s animal cracker crumbs kept Ossee Schreckengost awake at night). He was also known for being one of the first managers to reposition his fielders during the game.
He was also known for one unusual habit – he liked to wear a business suit and top hat when managing. Gotta love the professionalism of Mr. Mack, even if it is hard to picture any of today’s managers walking out to make a pitching change while wearing a tie!
To close, here’s another doozy from Ogden Nash:
Q is for Don Quixote
Cornelius Mack;
Neither Yankees nor years
Can halt his attack
You go, Cornelius!
Happy Halloween!
Same to you! Although it’s a little far removed from Halloween now haha. I’m slow at responding to these comments sometimes – my apologies!
And I believe his family lives on today as Mack … not McGillicuddy.
That’s a shame – McGillicuddy is an amazing name.
One of the great baseball names of all time. Right up there with Clyde Klutz, Orval Overall and Van Lingle Mungo. When my best friend and I–back in the pre-Internet dark ages–made a list of the fifty wackiest baseball names of all time, Mr.McGillicudy was right up near the top, probably because the only place we had ever heard that last name was on the Our Game comedy series as that was their teacher’s name. But if baseball has some funny names, the NFL takes the cake in the sports world. Plaxico Burris, Santana Moss, Hines Ward– it’s almost a requirement for star wide receivers to have outré names. Who the hell names their kid Hines? 😀
Haha I wonder how many times he got called “Ketchup” growing up. Clyde and Orval may be featured in future posts. Orval is a guy I have thought of, but haven’t gotten around to posting about him yet. But yes, Connie Mack’s name is one of baseball’s all time best.
Although his career accomplishments weren’t as notable, one of Mack’s own players, Ossee Schreckengost, has a much more unusual and therefore worthy name.
Absolutely! Ossee was actually the second person I ever profiled on this blog! https://funnynamesblog.com/2012/01/07/ossee-schreckengost-on-trial/
He was indeed. Both Rube and Ossee have been included on this blog. Rube is one of the best characters in baseball history.
And have we forgotten about my favorite fictional redhead, Lucille McGillicuddy Ricardo?
That’s an exceptional name!
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