Frank Skaff

Who was Frank Skaff?

Francis Michael Skaff was an infielder, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. Skaff's was acting manager of the Detroit Tigers in 1966.

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, who batted and threw right-handed, Skaff was a 1935 graduate of Villanova University, where he received a degree in economics. He spent the most productive years of his playing career with the International League Baltimore Orioles during World War II. He appeared in six games for the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers and in 32 contests for the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics, hitting .320 in 75 at bats. He managed in the A's farm system and was a coach for the 1954 Orioles during their first AL season as the reborn St. Louis Browns, before joining the Tiger organization as a minor league skipper.

Skaff began 1966 as a Detroit coach. After 26 games, skipper Chuck Dressen suffered his second heart attack in two seasons. As in 1965, third base coach Bob Swift took over the Tigers on an interim basis as Dressen recovered. But Swift was not a well man, either.