Minor league baseball managers

Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, signing 23 one-year contracts with the team. Regarded as one of the greatest managers in baseball history, Alston was known for his calm, reticent demeanor, for which he was sometimes referred to as "the Quiet Man."
Born and raised in rural Ohio, Alston lettered in baseball and basketball at Miami University in Oxford. A journeyman whose MLB playing career consisted of only one game–two innings played, and one at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936–Alston spent 19 years in the minor leagues as a player, player-manager and non-playing manager. His service included a stint as manager of the 1946 Nashua Dodgers, the first U.S.-based integrated professional team in modern baseball. After six successful seasons as manager of Brooklyn's Triple-A teams, the St. Paul Saints and Montreal Royals, Alston was promoted to manage the Dodgers in 1954.
As a major league manager, Alston led Dodger teams to seven National League (NL) pennants and four World Series titles, including the only championship title won while the club was still in Brooklyn. After 23 seasons, Alston retired with over 2,000 career wins and had been selected as Manager of the Year six times. He also managed NL All-Star teams to seven victories. Alston's number 24 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. In 1983, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame but was unable to attend his induction ceremony after suffering a heart attack that year and being hospitalized for a month. He never fully recovered and died in Oxford, Ohio, on October 1, 1984.

Donald George Leppert (October 19, 1931 – April 13, 2023) was an American professional baseball player and coach.
A catcher, Leppert appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert threw and batted right-handed; he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). He was born in Indianapolis and began his 12-year active career in 1955 in the Milwaukee Braves' organization.

Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 28, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League.

Charles Arthur Shires (August 13, 1906 – July 13, 1967) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Boston Braves. In a four-year major league career, Shires played in 290 games, accumulating 287 hits in 986 at bats for a .291 career batting average along with 11 home runs, 119 runs batted in, an on-base percentage of .347, and a .988 fielding percentage.
Shires was a colorful personality with a penchant for self-praise, giving himself the nickname, Arthur The Great Shires and, earning the nickname of "What-a-Man" from reporters.

Robert Brandon Davis (September 10, 1927 – June 12, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, manager, coach and longtime scout who spent 52 years in the game. In his playing days, the outfielder appeared in 67 games in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1952 and 1953 seasons. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg), and was a native and lifelong resident of Newark, Delaware.

Joseph Edward Bockman (July 26, 1920 – September 29, 2011) was an American professional baseball third baseman and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1946), Cleveland Indians (1947), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–1949). During his playing days, Bockman stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), weighing 175 pounds (79 kg); he batted and threw right-handed. His younger brother, Morley Bockman, played Minor League Baseball (MiLB) for the Riverside Rubes, in the Sunset League, among other teams.

Thomas Oscar "Tod" Davis (July 24, 1924 – December 31, 1978) was an American professional baseball player of the 1940s and 1950s. The native of Los Angeles appeared in 42 games as an infielder and pinch hitter in Major League Baseball during the 1949 and 1951 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics. Davis was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg) and threw and batted right-handed.
During his trials with the Athletics, Davis collected 21 hits. His only big-league home run, hit September 5, 1949, came off Vic Raschi of the New York Yankees at Shibe Park during a 13–4 New York victory. The remainder of Davis' nine-year career (1943–1944; 1947–1953) was spent in the top-level Pacific Coast League. He appeared in 782 games in the PCL for both Los Angeles–based teams, the Angels and the Hollywood Stars, as well as for the Seattle Rainiers.
Davis served in the United States Army during World War II and its aftermath, and missed the 1945–46 seasons.

Jack Wayne Lohrke (February 25, 1924 – April 29, 2009) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he stood 6' (183 cm) tall, weighed 180 pounds (81.7 kg) and threw and batted right-handed.

Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32 and 1935–36), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroit Tigers (1937), Washington Senators (1939–40) and Boston Red Sox (1940), primarily as a shortstop.

Alan Cochrane Strange (November 7, 1906 – June 27, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A shortstop, he appeared in 314 Major League Baseball games during all or parts of five seasons (1934–35; 1940–42) with the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators. He was born in Philadelphia, and attended Northeast High School, alma mater of fellow big leaguers Benny Culp, Bill Hoffman, Bert Kuczynski, Jesse Levis and Eddie Stanky. He also attended Penn State University.
As a baseball player, he threw and batted right-handed, and was 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and weighed 162 pounds (73 kg). After five full seasons in the minor leagues, Strange made his Major League debut on April 17, 1934, at the age of 27 as a member of the Browns.
Strange would go on to hit .223 during a big-league career spent mostly with the Browns, although he did spend 20 games in 1935 with the Senators. He hit his lone Major League home run on September 2, 1934, against Phil Gallivan of the Chicago White Sox at Sportsman's Park. In the field, Strange had a .960 career fielding percentage.
Strange played his final MLB game on August 16, 1942, and served in the United States Army during World War II. Much of his minor league career occurred in the top-level Pacific Coast League for the Hollywood Stars, Seattle Rainiers and Portland Beavers. He managed the Rainiers for the final half of the 1959 PCL season.
On June 27, 1994, Strange died in Seattle, Washington. He is buried there at Calvary Cemetery.