A native of McLeansboro, Illinois, Blades was first scouted as a baseball player as a teenager in 1913. Branch Rickey, then the business manager of the St. Louis Browns, spotted Blades during a sandlot game for the St. Louis city championship. Seven years would pass, however, before Rickey would sign World War I veteran Blades to a contract; by that time, 1920, however, Rickey was working for the Browns’ National League rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Blades threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall and weighed 163 pounds (74 kg). After apprenticing in the minor leagues, Blades reached the Cardinals in 1922. Hampered by a severe knee injury, he appeared in over 100 games only three times – from 1924 to 1926 – but he hung on as a spare outfielder for ten major league seasons (1922–28; 1930–32), all with the Cardinals, and batted .301 lifetime. In his finest season, 1925, he hit .342 in 462 at-bats. He appeared in three World Series (1928, 1930 and 1931). Beginning a transition to a management career, he was a playing coach for the Cardinals from 1930 to 1932.
Manager, coach and scoutedit
Blades was known as a ferocious competitor with a terrible temper, and he carried that reputation with him as a manager in the Cardinals’ farm system. He managed at the top level of the St. Louis organization with the Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Red Birds from 1933 to 1938 and was named skipper of the Cardinals in 1939.
Upon his appointment, he prohibited alcohol drinking among his players. In his first season, the Cards responded to Blades’ tough regimen, winning 92 games and improving from sixth to second place in the National League. But the Cardinals slumped in the early weeks of 1940, winning only 14 of their first 38 games and plunging back into sixth place. On June 7, Blades was fired and ultimately replaced by Billy Southworth, who would lead the Cardinals to two world championships in the decade.
He then coached in the National League for the Cincinnati Reds (1942), Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–48) and Chicago Cubs (1953–56), in addition to a one-year return to the Cardinals (1951). He managed again in minor league baseball, spending two non-consecutive years (1941 and 1943) as skipper of the New Orleans Pelicans and three seasons (1944–46) at the helm of the St. Paul Saints, which then was one of the Dodgers' two top-level farm teams. He also worked in Brooklyn's farm system as a managerial consultant (1949–50) and scouted for the Cubs from 1957 into the early 1960s.
After 1940, Blades never managed again full-time in the big leagues, although during his tenure with Brooklyn he and a fellow coach, Clyde Sukeforth, turned down the job as acting manager of the 1947 Dodgers after the suspension of Leo Durocher for the season. Rickey, by then president of the Dodgers, ultimately turned to Burt Shotton, one of the team's scouts, and under Shotton Brooklyn won the 1947 NL pennant. During the following year, 1948, Blades served as interim Dodger pilot for a single game, when Durocher left Brooklyn for the New York Giants job, and Shotton succeeded him a second time. The Dodgers won Blades' one game at the helm, 4–2, on July 16, 1948, against the Reds. His final record as a big-league manager was 107–85 (.557).
blades, francis, raymond, blades, august, 1896, 1979, american, left, fielder, manager, coach, scout, major, league, baseball, left, fielder, managerborn, 1896, august, 1896mount, vernon, illinois, died, 1979, 1979, aged, lincoln, illinois, batted, rightthrew,. Francis Raymond Blades August 6 1896 May 18 1979 was an American left fielder manager coach and scout in Major League Baseball MLB Ray BladesLeft fielder ManagerBorn 1896 08 06 August 6 1896Mount Vernon Illinois U S Died May 18 1979 1979 05 18 aged 82 Lincoln Illinois U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutAugust 19 1922 for the St Louis CardinalsLast MLB appearanceSeptember 25 1932 for the St Louis CardinalsMLB statisticsBatting average 301Home runs50Runs batted in340Managerial record107 85Winning percentage 557TeamsAs player St Louis Cardinals 1922 1928 1930 1932 As manager St Louis Cardinals 1939 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers 1948 As coach St Louis Cardinals 1930 1932 Cincinnati Reds 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 1948 St Louis Cardinals 1951 Chicago Cubs 1953 1956 Career highlights and awardsWorld Series champion 1931 Contents 1 Scouted on the sandlots by Rickey 2 Manager coach and scout 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksScouted on the sandlots by Rickey editA native of McLeansboro Illinois Blades was first scouted as a baseball player as a teenager in 1913 Branch Rickey then the business manager of the St Louis Browns spotted Blades during a sandlot game for the St Louis city championship Seven years would pass however before Rickey would sign World War I veteran Blades to a contract by that time 1920 however Rickey was working for the Browns National League rivals the St Louis Cardinals Blades threw and batted right handed stood 5 feet 7 inches 1 70 m tall and weighed 163 pounds 74 kg After apprenticing in the minor leagues Blades reached the Cardinals in 1922 Hampered by a severe knee injury he appeared in over 100 games only three times from 1924 to 1926 but he hung on as a spare outfielder for ten major league seasons 1922 28 1930 32 all with the Cardinals and batted 301 lifetime In his finest season 1925 he hit 342 in 462 at bats He appeared in three World Series 1928 1930 and 1931 Beginning a transition to a management career he was a playing coach for the Cardinals from 1930 to 1932 Manager coach and scout editBlades was known as a ferocious competitor with a terrible temper and he carried that reputation with him as a manager in the Cardinals farm system He managed at the top level of the St Louis organization with the Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Red Birds from 1933 to 1938 and was named skipper of the Cardinals in 1939 Upon his appointment he prohibited alcohol drinking among his players In his first season the Cards responded to Blades tough regimen winning 92 games and improving from sixth to second place in the National League But the Cardinals slumped in the early weeks of 1940 winning only 14 of their first 38 games and plunging back into sixth place On June 7 Blades was fired and ultimately replaced by Billy Southworth who would lead the Cardinals to two world championships in the decade He then coached in the National League for the Cincinnati Reds 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 48 and Chicago Cubs 1953 56 in addition to a one year return to the Cardinals 1951 He managed again in minor league baseball spending two non consecutive years 1941 and 1943 as skipper of the New Orleans Pelicans and three seasons 1944 46 at the helm of the St Paul Saints which then was one of the Dodgers two top level farm teams He also worked in Brooklyn s farm system as a managerial consultant 1949 50 and scouted for the Cubs from 1957 into the early 1960s After 1940 Blades never managed again full time in the big leagues although during his tenure with Brooklyn he and a fellow coach Clyde Sukeforth turned down the job as acting manager of the 1947 Dodgers after the suspension of Leo Durocher for the season Rickey by then president of the Dodgers ultimately turned to Burt Shotton one of the team s scouts and under Shotton Brooklyn won the 1947 NL pennant During the following year 1948 Blades served as interim Dodger pilot for a single game when Durocher left Brooklyn for the New York Giants job and Shotton succeeded him a second time The Dodgers won Blades one game at the helm 4 2 on July 16 1948 against the Reds His final record as a big league manager was 107 85 557 Ray Blades died in Lincoln Illinois at the age of 82 in 1979 See also editList of St Louis Cardinals managers List of St Louis Cardinals coaches List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchiseReferences editThe St Louis Star Times 1938 J G Taylor Spink ed The Baseball Register 1956 edition St Louis C C Spink amp Son External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Ray Blades at Find a Grave nbsp Sporting positions Preceded byBilly Southworth Columbus Red Birds manager1933 1935 Succeeded byBurt Shotton Preceded byBurt Shotton Rochester Red Wings manager1936 1938 Succeeded byBilly Southworth Preceded byHal AndersonPat Ankenman New Orleans Pelicans manager19411943 Succeeded byPat AnkenmanFresco Thompson Preceded bySalty Parker St Paul Saints 1901 1960 manager1944 1946 Succeeded byHerman Franks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ray Blades amp oldid 1223106872, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
