Walter Alston Tenure as Manager

Lore & Background

Born and raised in rural Ohio, Alston lettered in baseball and basketball at Miami University in Oxford. A journeyman whose MLB playing career consisted of only one game–two innings played and one at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936–Alston spent 19 years in the minor leagues as a player, player-manager and non-playing manager. His service included a stint as manager of the 1946 Nashua Dodgers, the first U.S.-based integrated professional team in modern baseball. After six successful seasons as manager of Brooklyn's Triple-A teams, the St. Paul Saints and Montreal Royals, Alston was promoted to manage the Dodgers in 1954. As a major league manager, Alston led Dodger teams to seven National League (NL) pennants and five World Series titles, including the only championship title won while the club was still in Brooklyn. After 23 seasons, Alston retired with over 2,000 career wins and had been selected as Manager of the Year five times. He also managed NL All-Star teams to five victories. Alston's number 24 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. In 1983, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame but was unable to attend his induction ceremony after suffering a heart attack that year and being hospitalized for a month. He never fully recovered and died in Oxford, Ohio, on October 1, 1984.

In Their Own Story

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the warning track at Dodger Stadium as Walter Alston walked onto the diamond for the final time. The roar of the crowd was a familiar comfort, echoing the cheers from five different World Series victories he had orchestrated over two decades. He paused near home plate, looking out at the empty stadium where Koufax and Drysdale once dueled, feeling the weight of twenty-two years of strategy, heartbreak, and ultimate triumph settle quietly in his chest.

Reader's Guide

Walter Alston managed the Dodgers from 1954 to 1976, winning four World Series titles and seven NL pennants. He was known for his quiet demeanor and his 23 one-year contracts. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Did You Know?

• Alston's MLB playing career consisted of only one game, one at-bat, and a strikeout.
• He managed the first integrated U.S.-based professional team in modern baseball, the 1946 Nashua Dodgers.
• Alston signed 23 one-year contracts with the Dodgers.
• He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 but could not attend his induction due to a heart attack.