Despite developing several stars during the 1950’s, the Chicago Cubs never came close to the postseason. With desperate times calling for desperate measures, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley came up with an interesting idea to shake up the team.
The Chicago Cubs had been through a particularly dismal stretch. After making the World Series in 1945, and finishing third the following year, they found themselves back in the basement of the National League. From 1947 through 1960, the Cubs were below .500 every year, and finished no higher than fifth.
Even though they had developed such stars as Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, and Ron Santo, the Cubs were still relegated to also-ran status. Something needed to change. On this day in 1960, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley came up with a novel idea in an attempt to bring the team back from the cellar.
Instead of having a set manager, the team would have a College of Coaches. The team would have a regular coaching staff, but instead of having a set manager, one of the coaches would lead the team for several weeks at a time. Then, another coach would take over. The coaches would even rotate between the Majors and the minor league affiliates, with the idea being that a fresh set of eyes may help reverse the Cubs fortunes on the field.
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As the Cubs had gone 60-94 the year before, it made sense to do something different. This idea, however, was a radical experiment that no other team had attempted before. If it worked, the Cubs would have found a way to climb out of the basement. If not, well, desperate times called for desperate measures.
In a way, the College of Coaches was successful in 1961. Using four different managers, Vedie Himsl, El Tappe, Harry Craft, and Lou Klein, the Cubs improved to 64-90. They were still seventh in the National League, but there was some level of improvement in the standings that Wrigley could point to and say that the experiment was working.
The College of Coaches returned the following year, albeit with less success. Tappe and Klein again managed the team, as did Charlie Metro. However, the Cubs went 59-103, finishing ninth, behind the expansion Colt .45s. Metro finally got Wrigley to end the managerial part of the College, as he explained that changing the person in charge every few weeks was a disaster. Nonetheless, Metro was let go after the season, as Bob Kennedy came in as the manager. The coaching staff would continue to shuttle back and forth from the Majors to the minors through the 1965 season.
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The Chicago Cubs were desperate for anything that would work to bring the team out of the basement. Therefore, on this day in 1960, the interesting idea known as the College of Coaches was born.