GENE HANDLEY PASSES AWAY AT 94
By Dave Jordan
On April 12, Easter Sunday, Eugene Louis “Gene” Handley
passed away, reducing the number of living Philadelphia Athletics
players to 52. Gene played 125 games for the A’s in 1946 and
1947, mostly at second base with a few at third and two at shortstop.
He hit .252 for those two seasons, his only ones in the majors.
Who’s Who in Baseball in 1947 said Gene Handley was
“fast, clever and a fair hitter.”
Born November 25, 1914, in Kennett, Missouri, Handley was signed
originally in 1935, coming out of Bradley University with a B.S.
degree, by Frank Lane for the Cincinnati Reds, following in the
footsteps of his older brother, Lee, who put together a 10-year
career as an infielder for the Reds, Pirates, and Phillies. Before
coming to the big leagues, Gene was in the Pittsburgh organization
(there is a fascinating photo of Gene and Lee in the Pirates’
1940 spring camp, posed with another brother combination, the Pirates’
Paul and Lloyd Waner). The Cardinals picked up Gene on April 15,
1940, and he wound up with their Sacramento club in the Pacific
Coast League. He spent five seasons with the Solons, with 1943 on
the inactive list, and was drafted by Connie Mack in November 1945.
After his tenure with the Athletics, Gene went back to the PCL,
where he spent six years with the Hollywood Stars, batting a high
of .321 in 1948. In 1955, he signed on with the Chicago Cubs and
spent 54 years with the team, as a player-manager of their Stockton
Ports farm in the California League in 1955, as manager of Fort
Worth in the Texas League in 1957, and as a scout the rest of the
years, including 1984-87 as a cross-checker and as a Special Assignment
scout since 2003. Among the many players Handley found for the Cubs
were Dick Ellsworth, Bill Stoneman, Boby Pfeil, Jim Qualls, Ken
Rudolph, Bill Bonham, Mike Krukow, and Pete LaCock.
Gene Handley was a perfect example of a baseball “lifer,”
and we were fortunate to have him with the A’s for his big
league career. The Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society will
miss him and offers condolences to his family.
|
