Former Bears manager and Athletics Player, Metro, dies at 91
By Irv Moss,
The Denver Post
POSTED: 03/23/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

If legends are made by the number of stories told about them, Charlie Metro qualifies hands down.

Metro also was a great storyteller, particularly when it came to talking about his 47 years in baseball. His spectrum included managing stops with the Denver Bears, Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.

Metro, 91, died Friday in Buckingham, Va., of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. Services were in Buckingham and a Celebration of Life is scheduled April 9 in Denver. He had operated a ranch northwest of Arvada and raised quarter horses until three years ago, when he moved to Buckingham.

"The horses were the third love of his life," said Elena Metro, Charlie's daughter. Helen, his wife of 70 years, and baseball provided the other two.

Metro became prominent in Denver's baseball history in 1960 when he managed the Bears to their first American Association regular-season championship. He also managed the Bears the following year before moving to the Cubs in 1962 and becoming part of "The College of Coaches."

In an experiment, Metro, Elvin Tappe and Lou Klein took turns as manager during the season. The team finished 59-103 and in ninth place.

"It was like having a three-legged horse," Metro said of the experiment. "Occasionally the team would play real well, but about that time they'd rotate the coaches again."

The Cubs roster that year included Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo.

Metro, who managed the Royals in 1970, was involved in baseball at a time when there were as many as 54 leagues around the country. He remembered that he had 38 different mailing addresses while he was in the game.

As for his playing days with Detroit and the Philadelphia Athletics, Metro quipped, "I hit .400, .200 each year."

Metro made an important suggestion in the early blueprints of Coors Field. From his experience in Kansas City, he urged the builders to include batting cages for both the home and visiting teams under the grandstand, and the idea was added to the construction plan.

Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 orimoss@denverpost.com