Genius or fool?

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley dropped a bombshell on the sports world on this date in 1961 - the Cubs would not have a manager for the upcoming season.

His franchise had been struggling. They were 60-94 in 1960, the eighth year in a
row they were under .500. Wrigley wanted a revolving door - a revolving door of coaches.

Wrigley considered the manager a "dictator," and instead would rotate
eight coaches through the major and minor leagues. Each would take turns
running the major league club. Length of stay would depend on how well
the "coach" was doing. This brain trust became known as the College of Coaches.

Wrigley wanted help from another unlikely source, "Everyone has always said baseball is a game of percentages, but I have
yet to find anyone in baseball who can figure the percentages." He wanted an IBM machine in the dugout so whoever was running the team could access statistical
information about opposing, as well as Cub players. This information
would in turn help dictate game strategy. Mind you, this is decades
before the personal computer.

The Ivy League approach didn't work. The Cubs finished the 1961 season 64-90, just four games better than the year before. The situation got worse in 1962 when the Cubs lost 103 games on a 154 game schedule, the worst season the Cubs ever had. And that was the end of the College of Coaches.

Contributing sources:
Prell, E. (1961, Jan 13). No manager for cubs in 61-wrigley. Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963), pp. C1-c1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/182788804?accountid=31962
MLB stats
Philip K. Wrigley

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