Jack Tighe

Jack Tighe
Detroit Tigers
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1913-08-09)August 9, 1913
Kearny, New Jersey, U.S.
Died: August 1, 2002(2002-08-01) (aged 88)
Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S.
Middle Atlantic League debut
1936, for the Charleston Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record99–104
Winning %.488
Teams

John Thomas Tighe (August 9, 1913 (1913-08-09) – August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)), pronounced "tie", was an American minor league baseball player and a coach, manager and scout for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.

Biography

Born in Kearny, New Jersey, Tighe joined the professional ranks in 1936 as a catcher with the Charleston Senators,[1] a Detroit farm club in the Class C Middle Atlantic League. A right-handed batter listed as 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg), he rose no further as a player than Class A-1 (now Double-A), two levels below the major leagues, with the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League in 1938–39.

The following season, Tighe became a manager in the minor leagues.

In 1940 and 1941, Tighe was player-manager of the Muskegon Clippers, a Michigan State League Tigers farm club.[1]

He was a Detroit coach for the latter half of the 1942 American League season, then resumed his minor league managerial career from 1944 to 1953.[2]

In 1948, Tighe was assigned to be the first manager of the Flint Arrows in the Central League.[3]

He was again named to the coaching staff of the Tigers for 1955–56, replacing his boss, Bucky Harris, as Detroit's manager following the 1956 season. Tighe led the Tigers to a 78–76, fourth-place finish in 1957, although when Detroit faltered (21–28) early on during the 1958 campaign, he was released in favor of Bill Norman.[1] Tighe's career managing record: 99 wins, 104 defeats (.488).

He later managed and scouted in the Milwaukee Braves organization before returning to the Tigers' farm system, winning the 1967 Governors' Cup championship[4] and the 1968 International League regular season championship at the helm of the Toledo Mud Hens.[1] He served full-time with the Detroit Tigers system until 1982 then under various capacities until 1990.[1]

Jack Tighe died at age 88 on August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01), eight days short of his 89th birthday, in Pompano Beach, Florida.[1]

Managerial record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
DET 1957 154 78 76 .506 4th in AL – – –
DET 1958 49 21 28 .429 8th in AL
Fired June 9		 – – –
Total 203 99 104 .488 0 0 –

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Former Tigers' Manager Jack Tighe Dead at 88". The Bryan Times. AP. August 3, 2002. p. 10. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Spink, J.G. Taylor, Rickart, Paul A., and Abramovich, Joe, Official 1956 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1956, page 287
  3. ^ Adams, Dominic (May 1, 2015). "1 comment Flint joins Baltimore on list of pro baseball games with single-digit attendance". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.