Quote:
Originally Posted by jingram058
John Clapp was a player-manager for six different teams. That has to be one of them. I don't know who the other fellow is.
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We have a winner!
Not only was he the first ever player-manager, starting back in 1872 with the Middleton Mansfields, but went on to be player-manager of the Indianapolis Blues, Buffalo Bisons, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Blues, and finally the New York Gothams in 1883. Clapp was a catcher during his career.
And then just a few years after Clapp got started, a 2nd baseman named Bob Ferguson took on the duties of player-manager for the Hartford Dark Blues, starting in 1876. And he followed that by being the player-manager of the Chicago White Stockings, Troy Trojans, Philadelphia Quakers, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and finally ended his string with the New York Metropolitans in 1887. Interesting coincidence how they both ended their tenures as player-managers with New York teams.
And the earlier person who guessed Rogers Hornsby wasn't too far off after all. But it wasn't three teams he player-managed, it was five teams. He started with the St. Louis Cardinals (1925-26), then went to the New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1930-32), and finished player-managing back in St. Louis with the Browns (1933-37).
Hornsby was the only person to player-manage for five different teams, and did so for a combined 12 years. That 12 year stint as a player-manager puts him in third place (tied with Charles Comiskey who also player-managed for 12 years) as the most years someone served as a player-manager for major league teams. New question is, can you guess the two others that player-managed major league teams for more than the 12 years Hornsby and Comiskey did, and how many years did each of them do it for?