Lee Elia, known for managing the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies during his decades-long career in MLB (and for an infamous, expletive-filled postgame rant), has died. He was 87.
The Phillies announced that Elia died on Tuesday less than one week shy of his 88th birthday on July 16.
‘The Phillies mourn the loss of Lee Elia, who managed the club from 1987-88,’ the team said in a social media post on Wednesday. ‘Elia was a valued contributor to the Phillies for much of his half century in professional baseball. The third base coach for the 1980 World Series championship team, he also spent time in the organization as a minor league player, manager, scout and director of instruction.’
Born in Philadelphia in 1937, Elia graduated from Olney High School and attended the University of Delaware before signing with the Phillies in 1958. He played in the minor leagues for several years and subsequently signed with the Chicago White Sox. He was called up to the majors in 1966.
He also had a brief stint with the Chicago Cubs in 1968. He appeared in 95 total MLB games and had a .203 batting average.
Elia transitioned to coaching after landing a third base position with the Phillies in 1980. The squad went on to win the 1980 World Series over the Kansas City Royals.
‘I never really entertained thoughts about managing the Phillies. I just kept saying, ‘Geez, it would be great if one day I could be a coach for the Phillies,’ ‘ Elia once recalled. ‘That became a reality in ’80 and not only was I a coach, but I was a third base coach on a world championship ball club. And that to me was the ultimate.’
In 1982, Elia was hired as the manager of the Cubs. He lead the team to a 73-89 record that season. The Cubs didn’t fare much better in Elia’s second season. He was dismissed with the team sporting a 54-69 record.
Before then, though, Elia memorably delivered an infamous, expletive-laced rant mostly directed toward Chicago fans for heckling and booing the home team following a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 29, 1983.
Elia was hired to take over as manager for the Phillies in 1987 after the team got off to a 29–32 start under John Felske. Elia led the Phillies to a 51-50 mark, the team finishing the season with an 80–82 record. He retained the manger position for the 1988 season but was fired late in the year as the Phillies finished a disappointing 65–96.
He held various other coaching jobs for the New York Yankees (1989), Seattle Mariners (1993–1997; 2001–2002; 2008), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003–2005) and Baltimore Orioles (2006).
Elia was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
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