Tommy Lasorda
For 21 seasons, Thomas Charles Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers. Upon his retirement, he became one of the longest-serving baseball managers of all time (the others being the LA Dodgers’ Walter Alston, New York Giants’ John McGraw, and Philadelphia Athletics’ Connie Mack. He brought the Dodgers to two World Series Championships, plus eight division titles, within his 20-year tenure.
Thomas Charles Lasorda entered baseball as a left-handed pitcher, playing in the minor leagues from 1949 through 1960. Born in September 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, he first joined the state’s minor league team in 1948. He eventually appeared in the major leagues, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers (later LA Dodgers) in 1954 and 1955 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1956.
After the 1960 season, Thomas Charles Lasorda was ready to retire from playing and segue into scouting. In time, he managed some of the Dodgers’ minor league teams, including those in Pocatello and Albuquerque. In 1973, he rose up the ranks to become third-base coach, serving in this capacity for three years.
On September 29, 1976, he succeeded Walter Alston as the Dodgers manager. The following year, he led the team to the first of four National League pennants. His team ultimately clinched the World Series title in 1981, with a repeat feat in 1988.
He retired in 1996 with 16 National League championships under his belt — the most for anyone at the time. He has since served as the Dodgers vice-president, with a stint in 1998 as general manager.
He briefly returned to managing in 2000, this time for the US baseball team competing in the Sydney Olympics. His team—composed largely of minor league players—vanquished Cuba to win America’s first ever Olympic gold medal for baseball.
Such was Thomas Charles Lasorda’s prestige that he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Atop it, he had won numerous Manager of the Year awards from Baseball America, AP, and UPI, among others. He was also the inaugural winner of the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America’s Milton Richman Memorial Award. In 1997, the Dominican Republic president honored him for his priceless contributions to baseball.
Lasorda holds honorary degrees from various universities, including Pepperdine and Concordia. Most remarkably, the California Institute of Technology named an asteroid after him.