Fred Haney

Fred Girard Haney (April 25, 1896 – November 9, 1977) was an American third baseman, manager, coach and executive in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he won two pennants and a world championship with the Milwaukee Braves and, as an executive, he was the first general manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels of the American League. Indeed, for years Haney was one of the most popular baseball figures in Los Angeles.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and raised in Los Angeles, Haney's major league playing career lasted all or part of seven seasons (1922–27, 1929). Primarily a third baseman — despite his diminutive (5 feet, 6 inches/1.67 m) size — Haney compiled a .275 batting average for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, plus brief appearances with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Much of his playing career was spent in his hometown with the city's two Pacific Coast League clubs, the original, PCL Angels and the Hollywood Stars. He threw and batted right-handed.

Manager and broadcaster

Haney became a manager in 1936, piloting the Toledo Mud Hens of the AA American Association, top farm team of the St. Louis Browns. In 1939, he took over the lowly Browns — and the team lost 111 games. They improved by 24 games in 1940, but when the 1941 Brownies dropped 32 of their first 44 contests, Haney was replaced by Luke Sewell.

After briefly returning to Toledo to manage through 1942, Haney went home to Los Angeles (and the Coast League) as the radio...
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