Burt Shotton, Major League Baseball Player from Brownhelm

My blog post about the community well that used to be in front of the Brownhelm Store noted, "Not far from the well is the former home of Brownhelm's contribution to professional baseball – Burt Shotton –former manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Schotton was born in the village."

I was not familiar with Burt Shotton and after a little research, was surprised to learn of his long, successful career in both Minor and Major League Baseball. He did it all – from player to coach to manager. Near the end of his career he even coached with the Cleveland Indians.

Below are selections from the Wiki page entry with photos and Journal clippings interspersed.

"Burton Edwin Shotton (October 18, 1884 – July 29, 1962) was an American player, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. As manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947; 1948–50), he won two National League pennants and served as Jackie Robinson's first permanent Major League manager.

"Shotton was born in Brownhelm, a township in Lorain County, Ohio. In his playing days, he was a speedy outfielder – he was nicknamed "Barney" after record-setting race car driver Barney Oldfield – who batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 175 lb. (79 kg) Shotton compiled a .271 batting average with 1,338 hits in 1,387 Major League games played for the St. Louis Browns (1909, 1911–17), Washington Senators (1918) and St. Louis Cardinals (1919–23).

"In the early 1920s, as a player and coach, he was the Cardinals' "Sunday manager", relieving skipper Branch Rickey, who always observed the Christian Sabbath. Rickey and Shotton had formed a longstanding friendship and professional relationship dating back to their years together (1913–15) with the Browns, when Rickey was his manager. After Shotton retired as a player, he served on the Cardinals' coaching staff from 1923 to 1925. 

"Then, in 1926, Cardinal owner Sam Breadon appointed Shotton the manager of the team's top farm club, the Syracuse Stars of the International League. His 1927 Syracuse club posted a 102–66 record, but finished second, ten games behind league champion Buffalo.

March 1, 1926

April 26, 1926

"Shotton's first formal Major League managing opportunity came the following year with the NL's then-habitually tail end team, the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Nov. 8, 1927

Nov. 14, 1927

Nov. 25, 1927

April 3, 1928

June 4, 1929

Brooklyn Robins manager W. Robinson (left) shakes hands
with Phillie manager Burt Shotton (right) before a 1930 meeting
of the teams in Brooklyn

"He lasted six seasons (1928–33) with the Phils, who twice lost more than 100 games during his tenure. 

"Shotton then coached for the Cincinnati Reds in 1934. On July 28, he had a one-game stint as interim manager after the firing of Bob O'Farrell and before new skipper Chuck Dressen arrived from Nashville to take command of the last-place Reds; in that game, Cincinnati defeated the Chicago Cubs, 11–2. Then Shotton returned to the Cardinals for a seven-year term (1935–41) managing their top-level Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Red Birds farm clubs and spent four years (1942–45) on the coaching staff of player-manager Lou Boudreau of the Cleveland Indians.

"But prior to the 1946 season, Shotton hung up his uniform and settled into a scouting role for the Brooklyn Dodgers, for whom Rickey was now part-owner, president and general manager.

"On the eve of the 1947 season, Shotton received a telegram from Rickey; it read: "Be in Brooklyn in the morning. Call nobody, see no one". Flying immediately from his Florida home to New York, not knowing what to expect, Shotton was ushered into Rickey's presence. Leo Durocher, the Dodgers' manager since 1939, had been suspended for the entire 1947 campaign by Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler for "conduct detrimental to baseball." In his search for a temporary replacement, Rickey had been rebuffed by former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, then in retirement, and two of Durocher's coaches, Clyde Sukeforth(who managed the first two games of the season on an emergency basis) and Ray Blades.

"Rickey pleaded with Shotton to take over the Dodgers for the remainder of the season. Then 62 and convinced that his on-field career was over, Shotton reluctantly took the reins on April 18, still in street clothes. In doing so, he became one of the last MLB managers to wear everyday apparel rather than the club uniform. 

April 19, 1947

"He inherited a contending Brooklyn team that had finished in a flatfooted tie for the 1946 National League pennant before losing a playoff series to the Cardinals. He also inherited what historian Jules Tygiel called Baseball's Great Experiment — the Dodgers' breaking of the infamous color line by bringing up Jackie Robinson from their Triple-A Montreal Royals farm club at the start of the 1947 season to end over sixty years of racial segregation in baseball. The rookie was facing withering insults from opposing players, and a petition by Dodger players protesting Robinson's presence had only recently been quashed by Durocher.

"Shotton's calm demeanor, however, provided the quiet leadership the Dodgers needed. They won the National League pennant by five games and took the New York Yankees to seven games in the 1947 World Series. 

"With Durocher's suspension over, Shotton retired again, this time to a front office post as "managerial consultant" in the Dodgers' vast farm system. But the 1948 Dodgers did not respond to Durocher's return; they even (briefly, on May 24) fell into the NL cellar. 

"With the New York Giants also floundering, owner Horace Stoneham decided to replace his manager, Mel Ott, with Shotton. He called Rickey to ask permission to speak with Shotton about the Giants' job and was stunned when Rickey offered him the opportunity to hire Durocher instead. On July 16, 1948, Durocher moved from Brooklyn to Upper Manhattan to take over the Giants. The following day, Shotton was back in the Dodger dugout — still in street clothes.

"After his return, the Dodgers rallied to take the lead in the 1948 NL standings by the end of August, before they faltered in September to finish third, 71⁄2 games behind Boston. Then, in 1949, Shotton won his second pennant, with Brooklyn capturing 97 regular-season victories to finish a game ahead of the Cardinals. Robinson won the National League's Most Valuable Player award and batting championship. But Brooklyn again bowed to the Yankees in the World Series, this time in only five games. 

"Despite Shotton's two pennants in three seasons, he continually faced criticism from Durocher loyalists on the Dodgers, who claimed that Shotton was a poor game strategist and lacked Durocher's competitive intensity. Because he eschewed wearing a uniform, Shotton was prohibited from stepping onto the field of play during games to argue with umpires and make pitching changes; those tasks fell to one of his uniformed coaches.

Manager Burt Schotton and Dodger centerfielder Duke Snider, May 1950

"Shotton's last connection with baseball was as a consultant for Rickey's Continental League, the planned "third major league" that ultimately forced expansion of MLB in 1961–62. 

"Shotton died in Lake Wales, Florida, from a heart attack at age 77 during the second All-Star break in 1962."

July 30, 1962

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Three years before he passed away, Shotton's former home in Brownhelm Township went up for sale. Here is the real estate ad that ran in the Journal on August 5, 1959.