Lee Fohl

Leo Alexander Fohl (November 28, 1876 – October 30, 1965) was an American manager in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Boston Red Sox.

Biography Born in Lowell, Ohio, Fohl's involvement in professional baseball began in the early 1900s, when he served as a catcher for minor-league clubs in Ohio. His subsequent major-league playing career consisted of just five games as a catcher and 17 at-bats over two seasons. In 1915, he took over as manager of the Indians, with his best finish coming in 1918 when the Tribe finished in second place behind the Red Sox. He never made an important move, however, without consulting Tris Speaker, who arrived via a trade with Boston in the same year Fohl took over. In 1919, Fohl resigned as the Indians' manager after 78 games, and Speaker stepped in as manager for the remainder of the season.

Fohl resurfaced in 1921 with the Browns, where in 1922 the team was only eliminated from the pennant race on the penultimate game of the season, finishing just one game behind the New York Yankees. When the 1923 Browns fell back closer (but still above) .500, he was fired in midseason. In 1924, he joined the Red Sox, where he finished his managerial career on a dismal note; his Red Sox teams never finished higher than seventh place. (In fact, he was the only man to manage in the American League between 1924 and 1926 and not be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.) He finished with a 713-792 (.474 winning percentage) as manager. He managed the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1927, but was fired mid-way through the season.

He died in Brooklyn, Ohio at age 88.

Managerial record Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultCLE 1244579 7th in AL – – – –CLE 1547777 6th in AL – – – –CLE 1548866 3rd in AL – – – –CLE 1277354 2nd in AL – – – –CLE 784434 resigned – – – –CLE total 637 327 310 0 0 – SLB 1548173 3rd in AL – – – –SLB 1549361 2nd in AL – – – –SLB 1015249 fired – – – –SLB total 409 226 183 0 0 – BOS 1546787 7th in AL – – – –BOS 15247105 8th in AL – – – –BOS 15346107 8th in AL – – – –BOS total 459 160 299 0 0 – Total 1505 713 792 0 0 –