RIP Ralph Houk

[Gil Dobie]

Skipper of the 1961 Yankees, and best winning pct for a 1st year manager. Later managed the Red Sox and Tigers.

Link
Ralph Houk, who managed the powerhouse Yankees teams of the early 1960s to two World Series championships, died Wednesday. He was 90.

Boston Red Sox spokesman Dick Bresciani said Houk's grandson, Scott Slaboden, told the team Houk died at his home in Winter Haven, Fla.

Slaboden, who lives in the Boston area, told the team in an e-mail that Houk "died peacefully of natural causes after having a brief illness."

Houk spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher for the Yankees, appearing in just 91 games.

"People forget that before he was a manager, he was a war hero and he was a catcher for a lot of years," Tigers radio analyst Jim Price said. "He was a great guy. I knew him very well, and everyone that played for him loved him."

He made his mark as a manager, managing 3,157 games and winning 1,619 over 20 seasons with the Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Red Sox.

[andy7171]

Stay away from my family!

Oh wait, different guy.

[AshevilleApp]

Stay away from my family!

Oh wait, different guy.

[AshevilleApp]

Skipper of the 1961 Yankees, and best winning pct for a 1st year manager. Later managed the Red Sox and Tigers.

Link
Ralph Houk, who managed the powerhouse Yankees teams of the early 1960s to two World Series championships, died Wednesday. He was 90.

Boston Red Sox spokesman Dick Bresciani said Houk's grandson, Scott Slaboden, told the team Houk died at his home in Winter Haven, Fla.

Slaboden, who lives in the Boston area, told the team in an e-mail that Houk "died peacefully of natural causes after having a brief illness."

Houk spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher for the Yankees, appearing in just 91 games.

"People forget that before he was a manager, he was a war hero and he was a catcher for a lot of years," Tigers radio analyst Jim Price said. "He was a great guy. I knew him very well, and everyone that played for him loved him."

He made his mark as a manager, managing 3,157 games and winning 1,619 over 20 seasons with the Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Red Sox.

RIP Ralph. You took a bad Tiger team and made them respectable.

[grizzaholic]

I was hoping it was about a different Ralph. FUCK THAT METH HEAD!!!

[citdog]

Houk gave Bobby Cox his first managerial gig in the yankees system. pretty good foresight

[JoltinJoe]

There are a fair number of baseball experts who pick Houk's '61 Yankees as the greatest team ever.

People sometimes forget that Houk had a second term as the Yankee skipper from '66 to '73.

At the end of the '73 season, Houk abruptly resigned as the Yankee manager, making some vague reference to being questioned too often. At the time no one understood what he meant.

Houk thus became George Steinbrenner's first ex-manager -- and the merry-go-round was underway.

[Gil Dobie]