Calling Clyde King a “former Yankees manager” is pretty damn misleading actually, but I couldn’t think of a better headline. Fact is, King only managed the Yankees for part of one season, leading the Bombers for 62 games in 1982. A season in which three different men managed the team at the height of George Steinbrenner’s nutso period. King had longer managerial stints in San Francisco (1969-70) and Atlanta (1974-75). Dude got to manage both Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, which is pretty neat.
King was much more significant as an all-around baseball man, working just about every job you could have after his playing days were over. He managed. He scouted. He coached. He was a vaguely-tasked front office figure in New York for nearly 30 years. According to some reports, he was George Steinbrenner’s eyes and ears. Which was probably a pretty full time job.
King won 14 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers on year. If you look at his Baseball-Reference page you’ll also see that he was one damn handsome man when he was young.
Good travels, Baseball Man.