Jack Onslow

Who was Jack Onslow?

John James Onslow was an American player, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.

At age 60, Onslow became one of the oldest rookie managers in MLB annals when he was named skipper of the Chicago White Sox in the fall of 1948, succeeding Hall of Fame pitcher Ted Lyons. Onslow managed the South Siders for the entire 1949 season, finishing sixth in the American League with a 63–91 record. But he could not get along with his boss, Chisox general manager Frank Lane, and clashed with players and the media. After a poor start in 1950, when the White Sox dropped 22 of their first 30 contests, Onslow was replaced by one of his coaches, Red Corriden. His career record as a manager: 71 wins, 113 defeats.

Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Onslow played 36 games as a major league catcher for the 1912 Detroit Tigers and 1917 New York Giants, batting .169, but was a popular baseball figure as a longtime coach for a number of teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. In addition, he scouted for the White Sox and Boston Braves for several years and held a similar job with the Red Sox when he died, at 72, in Concord, Massachusetts, from a heart attack in 1960. To people around the game, Onslow was known as one of the most garrulous raconteurs of his day.