Alvin Dark, a former major-league player and manager whose career in baseball spanned decades, has died at the age of 92. The Athletics, whom Dark skippered to the 1974 World Series title, sent out this tweet on Thursday:
Saddened to hear of the passing of 1974 WS Champ Manager Alvin Dark. He was a true baseball man. Our condolences. pic.twitter.com/kaq5foaMJE
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) November 13, 2014
A gifted two-sport athlete in college, Dark was signed out of LSU by the then Boston Braves in 1946. He spent the prime of his career as an infielder with the Giants and then went on to play for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies and Milwaukee Braves before retiring after the 1960 season.
In 14 years, Dark compiled 2,089 hits and hit 126 home runs. He was a three-time All-Star and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1948. Dark also played in three World Series and batted .323/.353/.431 over that span. In the 1954 World Series, he batted .412 for the Giants en route to their upset win over the Indians.
As a manager, Dark spent parts of 13 seasons in the dugout for the Giants, Kansas City A's, Indians, Oakland A's and Padres. In addition to winning the World Series with the A's, Dark guided the Giants to the pennant in 1962 and posted a .510 winning percentage for his career.
