Red Corriden

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John Michael "Red" Corriden (September 4, 1887 — September 28, 1959) was a player, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. A shortstop in his playing days, Corriden appeared in 223 major league games with the St. Louis Browns (1910), Detroit Tigers (1912) and Chicago Cubs (1913-15), batting only .205. He was born in Logansport, Indiana.

After his playing career ended, Corriden managed in the minor leagues during the 1920s. In 1932 he was named a coach with the Cubs. As a major league coach for the next 17 years, Corriden would assist managers such as Rogers Hornsby, Charlie Grimm, Gabby Hartnett, Leo Durocher and Bucky Harris with the Cubs (1932-40), Brooklyn Dodgers (1941-46) and New York Yankees (1947-48) - working for five pennant-winning teams.

The Yankees' "raiding" of Corriden and Chuck Dressen from the coaching staff of Durocher's Dodgers was one of the factors in the public feud between Durocher and Yankee president Larry MacPhail that spilled into print in early 1947. When a newspaper column under Durocher's name accused MacPhail of allowing known gamblers to use his box seats at spring training games in Havana, Cuba, Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler initiated an investigation that resulted in Durocher's suspension for the entire '47 campaign.

Corriden left the Yankees after the 1948 season. He began 1950 in the familiar role of coach for the Chicago White Sox when his only MLB managing chance occurred. In May 1950, with the Sox only 8-22 and last in the American League, skipper Jack Onslow was dismissed and Corriden finished out the season. Under Corriden, the White Sox won only 52 of 124 games, but climbed two places, finishing sixth. He returned to the Dodgers in 1951, as a scout. His son, John M. Jr., had a brief major league trial as an outfielder with Brooklyn in 1946.

Corriden died in Indianapolis, Indiana, at 72 from a heart attack suffered while watching the 1959 National League playoff series between the Milwaukee Braves and the Dodgers on television.

[edit] External links

• The Deadball Era