Sport: Baseball
Born: July 19, 1912
Died: June 18, 1963
Town: Jersey City, New Jersey
Benjamin Raymond Geraghty was born July 19, 1912 in Jersey City, NJ. The son if Irish immigrants, Ben lost his father at age 14 when he was crushed between two trucks at his job for the National Grocery Company. His older brother, Patrick, a Jersey City cop, became the head of the family. Ben was an exceptional football, baseball and basketball player at St. Peter’s Prep for two seasons before transferring to St. Benedict’s in Newark. He continued to play basketball and baseball for Villanova under George Jacobs, who coached both teams.
In 1936, Ben tried out for the Dodgers and so impressed manager Casey Stengel that he anointed Ben his starting shortstop. After a hot start, Ben injured his hand and could not regain his batting stroke. The Dodgers sent him to the minors, where he bounced around for several seasons until Stengel—now managing the Boston Braves—invited him to camp in 1943. Over the next three seasons, Ben spent time with the Braves as a utility man, but spent the bulk of his time in the minors.
While playing for the Spokane Indians in 1946, Ben was on the team bus when it lost control, rolled down a steep slope and burst into flames, killing nine players. Ben was thrown through a window but managed to climb up the hill and signal for help. He briefly took over as player-manager in 1946 before being named Spokane’s skipper in 1947, leading them to a second-place finish. His managing career had begun.
Beginning in 1949, Ben managed four seasons in the New York Giants system, and then moved over to the Jacksonville Braves in 1953. His 19-year-old star was Henry Aaron, who later called Ben the best manager he ever had. Ben was a skilled communicator who sensed how to motivated individual players to push beyond their limits. He was also known for standing up for his black players while managing in the South. He won three pennants with Jacksonville between 1953 and 1956, earning a promotion to the Braves’ top minor-league team in Wichita. Ben prepared his players to contribute to the big club (now in Milwaukee) with his most notable contribution being Bob “Hurricane” Hazle, who joined the Braves for the final two months and batted over .400 to help them win the pennant. Ben was named Minor League Manager of the Year that season. He won the award again in 1962, having returned to Jacksonville.
In June of 1963, Ben suffered a fatal heart attack at the ago of 50. Although he recovered physically from the 1946 bus crash, he felt overwhelming anxiety whenever he rode a bus—not a good thing for a minor-league manager. In the 10 seasons between 1953 and 1962, Ben’s clubs won five pennants and never finished lower than second place.