Jerry Coleman
MLB debut April 20, 1949 for the New York Yankees Last MLB appearance September 29, 1957 for the New York Yankees Career statistics Batting average .263 Hits 558 Runs batted in 217 Teams As player New York Yankees (1949–1957) As manager San Diego Padres (1980) Career highlights and awards All-Star (1950) 4× World Series champion (1949–1951, 1956) Ford C. Frick Award (2005) Jerry Coleman Nickname(s) The Colonel Born (1924-09-14)September 14, 1924 San Jose, California Died January 5, 2014(2014-01-05) (aged 89) Allegiance United States of America Service/branch United States Marine Corps *Marine Forces Reserve Years of service 1942–1964 Rank Lieutenant Colonel Unit VMSB-341 VMA-323 Battles/wars World War II *Solomon Islands campaign *Philippines Campaign (1944–45) Korean War Awards Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Air Medal (13) Other work New York Yankee Second Baseman San Diego Padres Radio Announcer For the radio disc jockey from Lubbock, Texas, see Jerry "Bo" Coleman. Gerald Francis "Jerry" Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series most valuable player. Yankees teams on which he was a player appeared in six World Series during his career, winning four times. Coleman served as a Marine Corps pilot in WW II and the Korean War, flying combat missions with the VMSB-341 Torrid Turtles (WWII) and VMA-323 Death Rattlers (Korea) in both wars. He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.