A familiar face in Philadelphia baseball and Athletics history was at Citizen’s Bank Park, as the legendary Connie Mack has his own cutout.
For just over five decades, Connie Mack was Philadelphia baseball. The legendary owner/manager of the Athletics was a constant presence, managing the franchise from its inception in 1901 through 1950. His name was a part of Major League Baseball from the start of his playing career in 1886 through the final game at Connie Mack Stadium in 1970.
Despite passing away in 1956, Mack has managed to make his presence felt to this day. He was a part of the cutouts at Citizen’s Bank Park on Wednesday, sitting just down the first base line during the Phillies game against the Yankees.
Mack’s career began as a catcher for the long extinct Washington Nationals, the fourth major league franchise, albeit the first in the National League, to bear that name. He spent 11 years in the majors as a player between the Nationals, Buffalo Bisons of the short lived Player’s League, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. During that time, he produced a .244/.305/.300 batting line over 2949 plate appearances.
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But Mack’s greatest contribution to the game came on the bench. He helped found the Athletics, Mack’s ‘White Elephant’ according to Giants manager John McGraw. But he quickly turned that team into a contender, becoming one of the first dynasties in the American League, and then going toe to toe with the mighty Yankees of the late 1920s.
Over the course of his 53 years as a manager, including his three seasons with the Pirates, Mack put together a 3731-3948 record. He won nine American League pennants and five World Series as the architect of a pair of dynasties. Unfortunately, after being forced to sell off his second dynasty due to the Great Depression, he was never able to return to those lofty heights again.
But that does not change his stature in the game. He was the first manager inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame, enshrined in 1937. Mack remains one of the most successful figures in Philadelphia sports history. It is fitting that he should be honored with a cutout at the game, even if the A’s were not in town.
Connie Mack made an appearance at Citizen’s Bank Park. Maybe he can make another one, but this time, in Oakland.