Tony LaRussa

Tony LaRussa is one of the greatest managers in the history of baseball, and one of the more interesting people to grace the sport. As manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, LaRussa is the third-winningest baseball field boss of all time, surpassed only by legends Connie Mack and John J. McGraw, whom some day LaRussa will join in the baseball Hall of Fame. Born on October 4, 1944, LaRussa was raised in Tampa, Florida, near where Hall of Fame manager Al Lopez lived. The young Tony was friends with future major league player and manager Lou Piniella. As a teenager, LaRussa appeared in the Colt League World Series. Signed by owner Charles O. Finley's Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1962, LaRussa's broke into The Show the following year at the age of 18, but his early debut did not presage greatness at the plate: he hit only .199 in six major league seasons spread over a 10 year period (1963-73). LaRussa became impressed with A's man