Fifty of those years, from 1901 through the 1950 season, were spent as owner-manager of the Philadelphia Athletics. The A's won nine American League championships and five World Series under the management of this beloved and respected baseball legend. In 1937, Mack was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mack played professional ball, mostly as a catcher, in more than 700 major league games. The story goes that he shortened his name to Mack so that it would fit on the score board. In 1901, he became manager and owner of a 25 percent stake in the Philadelphia club, which he named the Athletics after the old American Association team of the 1880s.
Mack was easy to spot on the bench--he was the man in the business suit (as seen in the panoramic team photograph displayed below). Mr. Mack, as he was respectfully referred to, never wore a uniform and rarely went into the clubhouse except for a pre-game meeting, a practice he initiated in the major leagues. His habit of moving his players into proper fielding position by waving his scorecard earned him the title "tenth man on the field." Mack led the A's to their first pennant in 1902, in great measure because of the pitching of Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank. Mack often said that pitching was 75 percent of baseball, and strong pitching was the hallmark of his winning teams. He had a reputation for turning young pitchers into stars. He brought Plank and Chief Bender into the majors directly from college teams, and he guided the talented but eccentric Waddell through that pitcher's greatest seasons.
Between 1910 and 1914, his club won four American League pennants and three World Series by combining good pitching with the "$100,000 infield," led by Eddie Collins and Frank Baker. However, Mack viewed baseball primarily as a business. When money was scarce, he did not hesitate to sell his stars and start rebuilding with younger, newer players.
The "Grand Old Man of Baseball" retired from managing after the 1950 season. He holds the record among managers for total games at 7,878. He holds the all-time record for games won at 3,776, and because of his longevity, the all-time record for games lost as well--4,025!
- See more early baseball cards. Browse the Player Index or Team List in Baseball Cards, 1887-1914, or search the collection on the name of your favorite team, player, city, or league from the turn of the century.
- For additional baseball history and memorabilia, visit the collection Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s. Don't miss the collection's special presentation Early Baseball Pictures, 1860s-1920s.
- Search the Today in History Archive on baseball to find more features on players Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Jim Thorpe, and Ty Cobb. Don't miss the features on the 1927 New York Yankees team, on the World Series, and on Anheuser Busch owner of the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Search on the term baseball in An American Time Capsule to see the announcement of an 1859 "Muscle and Mind" rivalry between Amherst College and Williams College. Pitted against each other in baseball and chess, Amherst won the ball game 73 to 32 that year and also emerged victorious at chess.
- Search across all the American Memory collections on the term baseball to find more items related to the sport.
