College of Coaches

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The College of Coaches was an unorthodox strategy employed by the Chicago Cubs in 1961 and 1962. After the Cubs finished 60-94 in 1960, their 14th straight second-division finish, Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley announced in December 1960 that the Cubs would use eight coaches as managers, rather than the traditional one-manager approach. Wrigley argued at the time, "Managers are expendable. I believe there should be relief managers just like relief pitchers." He also contended that the manager system led to constant turnover.

The Cubs front office argued that under this system, players would be exposed to the wisdom and experience of eight coaches instead of just one field manager. Four would serve in the minors, while four would serve with the Cubs. Each member would serve as "head coach" before rotating back to the minors. The original "faculty" of the College of Coaches conisted of El Tappe, Goldie Holt, Bobby Adams, Harry Craft, Verlon Walker, Rip Collins, Vedie Himsl and Charlie Grimm.

The original idea was for the eight men to rotate through the entire organization from the low minors all the way to the Cubs, ensuring that players would learn a standard system of play. However, in practice, players were often confused by this system. It was not always clear which coach would be in charge for a given game, and occasionally the various coaches were at odds with each other. Each coach brought a different playing style and a different lineup.

Without firm and consistent leadership, chaos reigned in the Cubs' dugout. The head coach position rotated between four different men in 1961 and three more in 1962 — two were holdovers from 1961 — and all seven had losing records, despite managing teams with future Hall of Famers Billy Williams and Ernie Banks.

In 1961, the Cubs finished with a 64-90 record, and took seventh in the National League, which was actually a slight improvement over the previous year. However, the 1962 season brought the worst record in Cubs history, as they finished 59-103, in ninth place in the expanded NL. Only the first-year New York Mets, who lost 120 games, finished lower. Chicago finished 6 games behind the expansion Houston Colt .45s in the standings.

The next year, Wrigley designated one member of the College, Bob Kennedy, as sole head coach for at least two seasons. Under Kennedy, the Cubs went 82-80 in 1963, their first winning record since 1946. This led Kennedy to assert a more traditional managerial authority over the team, though the experiment nominally continued until 1965. However, they would sink back toward the bottom of the NL standings the next season.

Kennedy was replaced by Lou Klein in June 1965, who finished out the season. In November, Wrigley hired Leo Durocher to replace Klein. At his press conference, Durocher emphatically ended the College of Coaches experiment by declaring himself manager, with Wrigley's blessing.

The College of Coaches, which has never been attempted by another Major League Baseball team, remains widely ridiculed and is often cited as a prime example of the ineptitude of the Cubs' front office over the past 60 years.