Heart Attack Claims Stanky, 83
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Eddie Stanky, a fiery second baseman who helped three different teams win National League pennants, died Sunday in Fairhope, Ala., of a heart attack. He was 83.
Stanky, nicknamed “The Brat,” played 11 seasons in the majors and had a career batting average of .268. He led the NL in walks three times and in runs scored once.
He played on pennant winners with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Boston Braves in 1948 and the New York Giants in 1951.
When Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning homer for the Giants in 1951, Stanky ran out of the dugout and jumped on the back of Manager Leo Durocher, who was coaching third base.
Stanky ended his career as a player-manager for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1953, and later managed the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers. He managed the Rangers for just one game in 1977, then quit because he was homesick.
His record as a major league manager was 467-435.
Stanky is survived by his wife, Dickie; three daughters, Beverly, Kay and Marianne, and a son, Mike. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
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