December 20, 1960
#OTD in @chicagocubs history ▸ Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley announces that the club will not have a manger for the ‘61 season, but instead will use a “college of coaches.” The “faculty” for the upcoming campaign will include El Tappe, Charlie Grimm, Goldie Holt, Bobby Adams, Harry Craft, Vernon Walker, Ripper Collins, and Vedie Himsl, with each serving as “head coach” for part of the season.
The new “system” produced a 9th place, two 7th place, and two 8th place National League finishes in 5 years (for a combined record of 354-449 – a .441 winning percentage). In short, the College of Coaches was a disaster. Notably, the one player who openly disagreed with the plan was fireplug second baseman (and future Cubs’ manager) Don Zimmer. As a result, Zimmer found himself a member of the @mets for the 1962 season. In November 1965 Wrigley hired Leo Durocher to manage the 1966 Cubs squad, thus ending the experiment...