Lee Elia, whose career in professional baseball spanned more than 50 years as a player, coach, and manager for teams including the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, has died at the age of 87. The Phillies organization announced his passing on Thursday.
Before his time in the dugout, Elia had a brief playing career as an infielder with the Chicago White Sox and the Cubs, hitting .203 with three home runs and 25 RBIs in 95 games during the 1966 and 1968 seasons.
Elia made his most significant mark as a coach and manager. A highlight of his coaching career was serving as the third base coach for Philadelphia’s 1980 World Series championship team. He landed his first managerial job with the Cubs in 1982, where he posted a 127-158 record over two seasons. His tenure in Chicago is widely remembered for a profanity-laced tirade against Cubs fans early in the 1983 season. He later managed the Phillies during the 1987 and 1988 seasons, finishing with a 111-142 record.
In a statement, the Phillies noted that while Elia was “affiliated with 10 different organizations throughout his distinguished career, he always considered himself a Phillie at heart.”
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