Walter Alston

Early life

Walter Emmons Alston was born on December 1, 1911, in Venice, Ohio, and spent much of his childhood on a farm in Morning Sun. As a teenager his family moved to Darrtown, where he attended Milford Township High School and earned the nickname "Smokey" for his fastball as a pitcher. He graduated high school in 1929, married Lela Vaughn Alexander the next year, and earned a degree in industrial arts and physical education from Miami University in 1935, paying his way through school by playing pool.

Playing career

Alston played minor league baseball as an infielder for the Greenwood Chiefs and Huntington Red Birds in 1935 and 1936, hitting 35 home runs in 120 games for Huntington. His only major league game came with the St. Louis Cardinals on September 27, 1936, substituting for Johnny Mize at first base; he struck out in his only at-bat and committed one error in two fielding chances. He returned to the minors, splitting 1937 between Houston and Rochester with a .229 average, then hit .311 with 28 home runs for Portsmouth in 1938 as the team won its only Middle Atlantic League championship.

After returning to Portsmouth in 1940 with 28 home runs, he served as player-manager for part of that season and for the next two seasons with Springfield, even pitching in seven games in 1942. He played for Rochester in 1943 and then became player-manager for Trenton in 1944 and 1945, a job offered by Branch Rickey. Alston then managed the integrated Nashua Dodgers in 1946, leading them to a New England League title while managing Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella. Over 13 minor league seasons, Alston hit .295 with 176 home runs.

Managerial career

In 1948 Alston managed the St. Paul Saints, a Dodgers Class AAA affiliate, to an 86–68 record, finishing third. He again managed Roy Campanella, who integrated the American Association that year; media criticized Alston for playing Campanella, but Campanella hit 13 home runs in 35 games. The 1949 Saints finished 93–60, first place by half a game. During off-seasons Alston worked as a teacher in Darrtown.

From 1950 to 1953 he managed the Montreal Royals, another Dodgers AAA affiliate, winning International League pennants in 1951 and 1952 and Governors' Cup playoffs in 1951 and 1953. Alston was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for 1954 after Chuck Dressen left when the team refused a multi-year contract. Dodgers executive Buzzie Bavasi pushed for Alston's hiring, and the New York Daily News headline read "Walter Who?" Alston's quiet nature contrasted with Dressen's outspokenness; sportswriters found him difficult to cover, and some players, including Don Zimmer and Jackie Robinson, initially disliked him.

Alston managed the Dodgers for 23 seasons, winning seven NL pennants and four World Series titles, and was selected Manager of the Year six times.

Later life and legacy

The Dodgers retired Alston's number 24 in 1977, the fourth Dodger so honored. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 but suffered a heart attack that year and was hospitalized for a month; his grandson represented him at the induction ceremony. Alston died on October 1, 1984, in an Oxford hospital from complications of the heart attack, at age 72, and is interred at Darrtown Cemetery in Darrtown, Ohio. MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth called him one of baseball's greatest managers.

Broadcaster Vin Scully offered remarks about Alston, and Duke Snider acknowledged occasional run-ins but praised Alston's use of each team's strengths. Alston is credited with helping break barriers for female sports journalists: on October 1, 1974, after the Dodgers clinched the NL West, he invited Anita Martini to the post-game press conference, making her the first female journalist allowed in any major league locker room. Ohio State Route 177 was renamed Walter "Smokey" Alston Memorial Highway in 1999, and he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2010. A memorial to Alston stands at Milford Township Community Park in Darrtown.