Ben Chapman (baseball)

Ben Chapman
Chapman, circa 1946
Outfielder / Manager
Born: (1908-12-25)December 25, 1908 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died: July 7, 1993(1993-07-07) (aged 84) Hoover, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 15, 1930, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
May 12, 1946, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.302
Home runs	90
Runs batted in	977
Managerial record	196–276
Winning %	.415
Teams
As player New York Yankees (1930–1936) Washington Senators (1936–1937) Boston Red Sox (1937–1938) Cleveland Indians (1939–1940) Washington Senators (1941) Chicago White Sox (1941) Brooklyn Dodgers (1944–1945) Philadelphia Phillies (1945–1946) As manager Philadelphia Phillies (1945–1948)
Career highlights and awards
4× All-Star (1933–1936) World Series champion (1932) 4× AL stolen base leader (1931–1933, 1937)

William Benjamin Chapman (December 25, 1908 – July 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1930 to 1946, most prominently as a member of the New York Yankees where, he was a four-time All-Star player, and was a member of the 1932 World Series winning team.

During the period from 1926 to 1943, Chapman had more stolen bases than any other player, leading the American League (AL) four times. After 12 seasons, during which he batted .302 and led the AL in assists and double plays twice each, he spent two years in the minor leagues and returned to the majors as a National League pitcher for three seasons, becoming player-manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, his final team.

Chapman's accomplishments as a player were overshadowed by the role he played in 1947 as manager of the Phillies, antagonizing Jackie Robinson by shouting racist epithets and opposing his presence on a major league team on the basis of Robinson's race with unsportsmanlike conduct that was an embarrassment for his team. He was fired the following season and never managed in the majors again.