By Woodrow Carroll
For former Major League Baseball manager Charlie Dressen, his finest hour may have also been his worst moment when looking back.
A native of Decatur, Ill., Dressen was born in 1894. (And, be careful when bringing up Dressen’s birth year. Like so many pro athletes, Dressen apparently shaved off a few years as he got older. One source lists his birth year as 1898.)
Slight of build, Dressen’s competitive fire allowed him to compete at the top level in both football and baseball although it was obvious baseball was to be where he was going to make a name for himself.
As a player, Dressen spent a number of undistinguished years in the Major Leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. Mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. What Dressen did in those formative years was to become a student of the game. It paid off!
Dressen’s first shot at being a Major League manager came in 1934 when he was hired to guide the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were not the strongest of National League clubs and it showed up in the standings. Early in the 1937 campaign, Dressen was fired. In three plus seasons as Reds’ manager his record stood at 214-282 (.431).
In the years that followed his time in Cincinnati, Dressen often found himself managing in the minor leagues or coaching in the Major Leagues. It was not until 1951 that Dressen came back to the “big leagues” as a manager. And, it proved to be a plum job.
Dressen was hired to manage the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951. It was a golden age for baseball in the New York area as the Dodgers, New York Giants, and New Yankees all fielded powerhouse teams. During his time in Brooklyn, Dressen was able to call upon five future Hall of Fame players, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, and Duke Snider.
In 1951, the Dodgers were downed by the Giants in a playoff for the National League crown. The following two seasons the Dodgers reigned supreme as National League Champions.
Despite falling to the Yankees in the 1952 and 1953 World Series, Brooklyn was experiencing heady times. Then, Dressen made what was a very ill-advised move.
Near the end of thee 1953 Season, Dressen asked for a three-year contract from an organization that only gave one-year extensions. A serious blunder!
When Dressen’s 1953 contract expired, the Brooklyn organization brought in Walter Alston, who was the Dodgers’ Triple-A manager in Montreal, to manage the Dodgers in 1954.
Backers of Dressen were quick to point out that it was the Giants, and not the Dodgers, who captured the 1954 World Series. A World Series that saw the Giants surprise the heavily-favored Cleveland Indians four straight games .
It was a different story in 1955. Not only did the Dodgers win the NL crown with Alston as manager. Brooklyn then knocked off the Yankees in the World Series in what turned out to be the only World Championship captured by the franchise while in Brooklyn.
Change was in the air. After the 1957 Season, the Dodgers packed up and moved to Los Angeles. At the same time, the Giants vacated New York leaving the ‘Big Apple’ with the Yankees the lone Major League club in New York until the Mets joined the fraternity in 1962.
Dressen as not out of work for very long. In time, Dressen managed the Washington Senators where he had no success. Milwaukee Braves and Detroit Tigers were next up. With the Braves and Tigers, Dressen had a winning percentage. But, no championships!
In 1966, Alston was in his 13th year of what what turned out to be a 23-year run with the with the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Dressen passed away.