Connie Ryan

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Cornelius Joseph Ryan (February 27, 1920 - January 3, 1996) was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball.

A native of New Orleans who attended Louisiana State University, Ryan appeared in 1,184 games over 12 seasons (1942-44; 1946-54), and compiled a lifetime batting average of .248 with 56 home runs for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. On April 16, 1953, Ryan (then with the Phillies) made six hits in six at-bats in a 14-12 loss to Pittsburgh, tying a then-major league record. He batted and threw righthanded.

Ryan spent much of his career with the Braves, as a player in Boston (he was a utility infielder for the 1948 National League champions), a coach and minor league manager for Milwaukee during the late 1950s, and as a coach and manager for the Atlanta club during the 1970s. He succeeded Clyde King as skipper on August 30, 1975 and guided the Braves to a record of nine wins and 18 defeats over the final 27 games of the season.

In 1977, Ryan began the season as a coach for the Texas Rangers. In a season of managerial turmoil, Texas skipper Frank Lucchesi was replaced by Eddie Stanky (a teammate of Ryan's on the 1948-49 Braves) on June 22. But Stanky resigned after only one game. Ryan then filled the breach for six games (Texas winning two) while the Rangers signed Baltimore coach Billy Hunter as permanent manager. His career managerial mark was 11 wins, 22 defeats (.333).

During the 1960s, Ryan also spent several seasons as a scout and minor league manager for the Houston Astros and briefly worked for the Kansas City A's.

He died at age 75 in Metairie, Louisiana.

[edit] External links

• Baseball Reference - playing statistics and managerial record

Preceded by Clyde King	Atlanta Braves Managers 1975	Succeeded by Dave Bristol
Preceded by Eddie Stanky	Texas Rangers Managers 1977	Succeeded by Billy Hunter