Lee Elia, former Cubs and Phillies manager known best for profane rant at fans, dies at 87
Elia spent several seasons playing for the White Sox and Cubs before transitioning to coaching and managing
Former manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs Lee Elia -- perhaps most famous for his rant directed at Cubs fans critical of his team -- has died at the age 87, the Phillies announced Thursday, roughly a week before his 88th birthday.
"Affiliated with 10 different organizations throughout his distinguished career, he always considered himself a Phillie at heart," the team said in a statement.
As a player, Elia spent parts of two seasons in the majors as an infielder first for the Chicago White Sox in 1966 and then as a member of the Cubs in 1968. Elia, however, is mostly known as a long-time coach and manager. His first managerial job came with the Cubs in 1982. That season, Elia guided them to a 73-89 record and a last-place finish in the National League East. On April 29 of the following season after a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers that dropped the Cubs to 5-14, Elia entered the annals of baseball cultural history with a three-minute profane monologue directed at Cubs fans, who, to Elia's estimation, were too vocally disparaging of his team. It went in part:
"What am I supposed to do? Go out there and let my f---ing players get destroyed every day and be quiet about for the f---ing nickel dime people who show up? The motherf---ers don't even work. That's why they're out at the f---ing game. They should go get a f---ing job and find out what it's like to go out there and earn a f---ing living. Eighty-five percent of the world is working, the other 15 come out here."
Elia was let go before the end of the season, and his Cubs tenure ended with a record of 127-158. The Philadelphia native Elia later managed the Phillies for parts of the 1982 and for part of the 1983 season and went on to resume a distinguished career as a coach in the majors, including several years with the Seattle Mariners.
"Lee was special," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said on Thursday. "Baseball has lost a giant. A great baseball man and an even better human. He was like a father to me and taught me how to be a big leaguer."
