Walter Alston Marquee Hall of Fame 1983

The whole of his playing record is a single game for St. Louis in 1936, one time at bat, one inning at first base, and no hit. He was twenty-four. That is the entire career this archive can measure, and it is the smallest of any manager in the Hall of Fame who played at all.

What he is actually here for is twenty-three seasons in the same job: 2,040 wins against 1,613 losses, first place seven times, Brooklyn from 1954 and Los Angeles after the move. He signed a one-year contract every one of those years. The Sporting News named him its Manager of the Year three times.

He was a quiet man who followed Charlie Dressen, who had asked for a longer deal and been refused. He appeared on five Hall of Fame ballots. The Veterans Committee elected him in 1983, seven years after he stopped and a year before he died.