Miller Huggins
Miller Huggins was the "Mighty Mite" who managed the Yankees to dominance in the 1920s, winning six pennants in eight years and three World Series titles, the first three in franchise history. He was a feisty, temperamental manager who wasn't afraid to challenge players and opponents who were twice his size, which almost everyone was. His death late in the 1929 season was one of the saddest days in franchise history, and the viewing of his casket at Yankee Stadium drew tens of thousands of fans.
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 1586 |
5558 |
1474 |
948 |
9 |
318 |
324 |
.265 |
.314 |
.382 |
.696 |
107.6 |
|
Quotes From Miller Huggins
"A good catcher is the quarterback, the carburator, the lead dog, the pulse taker, the traffic cop and sometimes a lot of unprintable things, but no team gets very far without one."
Teams Miller Huggins Managed
St. Louis Cardinals (1913-1917)
New York Yankees (1918-1929)
Where does Miller Huggins rank among baseball greats?
Miller Huggins ranks #48 among the Top 50 all-time at 2B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1927
For years, the '27 Yankees have been hailed as the greatest team of all-time. The claim started almost before the 1927 season ended, and reached new heights after the Yankees disposed of the Pirates in four straight games in the World Series. But is this team the greatest of all-time? Dozens of books and even more articles have been written on this team. At least five computer simulation tournaments have been run to determine if they are the greatest. Most of the time they have come our on top. The biggest thing the '27 Yankees have going for them is Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Not only were they the best two players in baseball in 1927, but they were both in their prime, Ruth at the end of his prime and Gehrig at the beginning. No other team has ever had two stars of such magnitude in the middle of their lineup. Imagine Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams together or Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, or Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Then, imagine them leading their team to a 110-win season and a sweep of their opponent in the World Series. In 1927 it was reality. The most glaring weakness of the 1927 Yankees are their bench and pitching staff. Hoyt and Pennock are in the Hall of Fame but neither are considered all-time greats, merely very good pitchers who had the fortune to play for the best team in baseball. After those two, you have Urban Shocker, Dutch Reuther and George Pipgras, hardly household names. Of course, the '27 Yankees pitching staff was great that year but our point is that the staff doesn't elicit all-time great status. But with a lineup consisting of four future Hall of Famers (Earle Combs and Tony Lazzeri join the Big Two), perhaps the pitching is good enough. What we do know is that every time a team gets off to a hot start or rolls through a season to the World Series, they will be compared to the 1927 New York Yankees. A few of the team to feel that comparison were the 1954 Indians, 1961 Yankees, 1975 Reds, 1984 Tigers, 1986 Mets, 1988 A's, 1998 Yankees and the 2001 Mariners. Three of those teams failed to win the World Series, in fact one didn't even make it to the Fall Classic. The legend of the '27 Yankees will probably live forever, and the long shadow they cast may never be erased.
Born
Miller James Huggins was born on March 27, 1878, in Cincinnati, OH.
Died
September 25, 1929, New York, NY
Batted: Both
Threw: Right
Major League Debut
4 15,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1904
Sherry Magee
Frank Schulte
Miller Huggins
George Stovall
Art Devlin
Gabby Street
Ed Walsh
Hooks Wiltse
Charley O'Leary
Nicknames
Hug,Mighty Mite
Similar Players
Max Bishop. Freddie Patek and David Eckstein as players; Kid Gleason, John McGraw, Leo Durocher, Billy Martin and Phil Garner as managers.
Related Players
Ned Hanlon, Joe Kelley, Clark Griffith, Rogers Hornsby, Muddy Ruel, Lefty O' Doul, Roger Peckinpaugh, Bob Shawkey, Steve O'Neill, Leo Durocher, Bill Dickey, Eddie Stank
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1937 |
BBWAA |
5 |
2.5% |
1938 |
BBWAA |
48 |
18.3% |
1939 |
BBWAA |
97 |
35.4% |
1942 |
BBWAA |
111 |
47.6% |
1945 |
BBWAA |
133 |
53.8% |
1946 |
Nominating Vote |
129 |
63.9% |
1946 |
BBWAA |
106 |
40.3% |
1948 |
BBWAA |
4 |
3.3% |
1950 |
BBWAA |
2 |
1.2% |
1964 |
Veterans |
|
% |
|
Learn More about Miller Huggins
Search Amazon.com for Books about Miller Huggins ⇒
Search for Miller Huggins at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒