Sandberg is seventh to play for, coach, manage Phils

There have been more than 1,900 men who have worn the Phillies uniform since the first season 130 years ago. When Ryne Sandberg was named the team's 52nd manager, he became just the seventh man to have played for, coached and managed the Phillies. Three managers have had interim tags, including Ryno.

Some of those on the list are household names, while three are probably known only to baseball historians: Kaiser Wilhelm, Gavvy Cravath and Hans Lobert.

At age 47 and having been out of Major League Baseball since 1915, Wilhelm joined the Phillies in '21 as a pitcher-coach, appearing in four games as a reliever. Teams in that era had only one coach. Later that season, he became player-manager. He also managed the '22 Phillies. His career managerial record was 77-128.

Cravath, a right-handed slugger who played right field, was with the Phillies for nine seasons (1912-20). He was 31 years of age when he joined the Phillies as a player, and he served as the team's player-manager from '19-20 (91-137 record). He returned to coach for one season in '23.

Next was Hans Lobert, who was an infielder with the Phillies from 1911-14 and returned as a coach for eight seasons ('34-41). He had two stints as the skipper, serving as an interim in '38 (0-2) and as the manager for the full '42 season (42-109).

John Vukovich played for the Phillies three different times (1970-71, '76-77, '78-81). He put on the Philadelphia uniform as a coach from 1988-2004 as the longest-tenured coach in team history. During his coaching career, he served under managers Lee Elia, Nick Leyva, Jim Fergosi, Terry Francona and Larry Bowa. Vukovich was also the interim manager in 1988, going 5-4 in the season's final nine games.

Bowa was an All-Star and Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop during his playing days (1970-81). He returned as a coach ('88-96) and manager (2001-04), going 337-308 as the skipper. He's back for a fourth time with the franchise and a second go-round as a coach.

Live Vukovich, Gary Varsho was an interim manager in 2004 (1-1). He also was an outfielder (1995) and a coach (2002-06) with the Phillies.

Sandberg, who was originally drafted by the Phillies in 1978, played in 13 games with Philadelphia in '81. He was a coach under Charlie Manuel in 2013 before replacing him on an interim basis on Aug. 16. He signed a three-year contract as manager on Sept. 22.

Elsewhere
Eric Bruntlett, who scored the winning run when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, will be signing autographs at Granite Run Mall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 2. … Greg Luzinski will be inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 7. … Bill Dancy will be inducted into the Florida State League Hall of Fame in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Nov. 12. … Chris Coste will take over as the baseball coach at Concordia College in Fargo, N.D./Moorhead, Minn., in 2015.

A bronze statue of Hall of Fame outfielder Elmer Flick was unveiled in his hometown of Bedford, Ohio, on Sept. 25. Flick began his career with the Phillies in 1898 and jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics in the new American League after the 1901 season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in '63 and died eight years later, just two days short of his 95th birthday. Flick hit .338 in his four seasons with the Phillies and led the National League with 110 RBIs in 1900. He hit .313 in his 13-year big league career. According to baseball-reference.com, his 1901 Phillies salary was $3,000.

Did you know?
Phillies managers wore the number 24 from 1949 until Opening Day1960 (Eddie Sawyer, Steve O'Neill, Mayo Smith and Sawyer again). The only exception was Terry Moore (No. 8), who replaced O'Neill in the second half of the 1954 season.