Charlie Fox

For other persons with a similar name, see Charles Fox (disambiguation).
Charlie Fox
Catcher
Born: (1921-10-07)October 7, 1921
New York City
Died: February 16, 2004(2004-02-16) (aged 82)
Stanford, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 24, 1942, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1942, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average .429
Home runs 0
Runs batted in 1
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Charles Francis Fox (October 7, 1921 – February 16, 2004) was an American manager, general manager, scout, coach—and, briefly, a catcher—in Major League Baseball. As manager of the National League West Division champion San Francisco Giants in 1971, he was named "Manager of the Year" by The Sporting News.

Early career

Born in New York City, Fox appeared in only three games as a Major League player—garnering three hits in seven at bats for a career batting average of .429—with the 1942 New York Giants. But Fox would spend another 33 years in that organization as a minor league catcher and manager and as a manager, scout and coach for the Giants, who relocated to San Francisco in 1958.

Fox spent eight years as manager of the Giants' Class C St. Cloud Rox team in the Northern League, scouted from 1957 to 1963, then managed the Giants' Triple-A Tacoma affiliate of the Pacific Coast League in 1964 before coming to the Major Leagues as a San Francisco coach under Herman Franks in 1965. He returned to the PCL to pilot the Giants' Phoenix affiliate in 1969–70 until he was summoned to San Francisco on May 24, 1970 to replace Clyde King as the manager of the MLB Giants.

Major League managerial career

Fox led the Giants to the NL West title in 1971, losing to the eventual world champion Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series. Subsequently, the Giants made a series of bad trades and fell from contention thereafter. On June 27, 1974, after compiling a record of 348–327 (.516), Fox was replaced as manager by former stalwart Giants catcher Wes Westrum.

In 1976, he joined the front office of the Montreal Expos as a special assignment scout and served as the club's emergency manager when Karl Kuehl was fired September 4. After winning only 12 of 34 games to close out the season, Fox was named the club's general manager and was succeeded on the field by Dick Williams. He held the GM title in Montreal through the 1978 season.

Fox, however, was destined to serve another term as an interim manager. In 1983, while working as a special assistant to Chicago Cubs general manager Dallas Green, Fox took over from embattled skipper Lee Elia on August 22 and managed the Cubs for the final 39 games of the season, winning 17 and losing 22. In 1984, he was replaced by Jim Frey. He later coached under Green in 1989 with the New York Yankees, and scouted for the Houston Astros.

Fox's career major league managing record was 377–371 (.504).

Fox died at age 82 in Stanford, California.

Managerial statistics

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
SFG 1970 6753.5583rd in NL West
SFG 1971 9072.5561st in NL West 1 3 .250 Lost to Pittsburgh Pirates
SFG 1972 6986.4455th in NL West
SFG 1973 8874.5433rd in NL West
SFG 1974 3442.4475th in NL West
MON 1976 1222.3536th in NL East
CHC 1983 1722.4365th in NL East
Total377371.504 13.250

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Whitey Lockman
San Francisco Giants third base coach
1965–1968
Succeeded by
Ozzie Virgil, Sr.
Preceded by
Jim Fanning
Montreal Expos general manager
1976–1978
Succeeded by
John McHale
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