Alvin Dark
Alvin Dark Alvin Dark circa 1953 Shortstop / Manager Born: (1922-01-07)January 7, 1922 Comanche, Oklahoma Died: November 13, 2014(2014-11-13) (aged 92) Easley, South Carolina Batted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut July 14, 1946 for the Boston Braves Last MLB appearance October 2, 1960 for the Milwaukee Braves Career statistics Batting average .289 Home runs 126 Runs batted in 757 Teams As player Boston Braves (1946–1949) New York Giants (1950–1956) St. Louis Cardinals (1956–1958) Chicago Cubs (1958–1959) Philadelphia Phillies (1960) Milwaukee Braves (1960) As manager San Francisco Giants (1961–1964) Kansas City Athletics (1966–1967) Cleveland Indians (1968–1971) Oakland Athletics (1974–1975) San Diego Padres (1977) Career highlights and awards 3× All-Star (1951, 1952, 1954) 2× World Series champion (1954, 1974) Rookie of the Year (1948) Alvin Ralph "Al" Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American baseball player who was a shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball and played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Dark was named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the 1948 Boston Braves when he batted .322. After joining the New York Giants, he hit .300 three more times and became the first NL shortstop to hit 20 home runs more than once. His .411 career slugging average was the seventh highest by an NL shortstop at his retirement, and his 126 home runs placed him behind only Ernie Banks and Travis Jackson. After leading the NL in putouts and double plays three times each, he ended his career with the seventh most double plays (933) and tenth highest fielding percentage (.960) in league history. He went on to become the third manager to win pennants with both National and American League teams.