# Mel McGaha

Fred Melvin McGaha (/məkˈɡeɪheɪ/ mək-GAY-hay; September 26, 1926 – February 3, 2002) was an American coach and manager in Major League Baseball as well as a professional basketball player. Born in Bastrop, Louisiana, he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 198 pounds (90 kg). McGaha graduated from the University of Arkansas and played a season of professional basketball with the New York Knicks of the NBA.

## Early life

McGaha was born on September 26, 1926, in Bastrop, Louisiana. He was raised by Fred and Ethie McGaha in Mabelvale, Arkansas, where he attended Mabelvale High School, and played basketball and baseball. He attended the University of Arkansas, where he played baseball, basketball and football. In the 1944-45 season, his basketball team competed in the NCAA tournament, however, he had entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in early 1945, and was not discharged until November of that year. He was a reserve on the Razorbacks football team that went to the 1947 Cotton Bowl (January 1, 1947).
He was a football team captain the following season in 1947. The team won the 1948 Dixie Bowl (January 1, 1948) over William and Mary, Arkansas' first bowl win. McGaha returned an interception seventy yards for a touchdown in the 21–19 victory.
After graduating in 1948, McGaha had opportunities to play professional football with the Los Angeles Rams, baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and basketball for the New York Knicks of the Basketball Association of American (BAA), a precursor to the National Basketball Association. He chose both baseball and basketball.

## Professional basketball

McGaha played 51 games for the New York Knicks of the BAA, for the 1948-49 season, under coach Joe Lapchick. He averaged 3.5 points, but his main role was as the team's "hatchetman". This was his only year playing professional basketball.

## Minor league baseball

McGaha played in the Cardinals' minor league system from 1948-52. Playing Class-C baseball in 1948, his batting average was well over .300. In 1949, he was advanced to the Triple-A Columbus Red Birds. In 114 games,he hit .290 and scored 70 runs, but only had one home run. The following season, he was demoted to Double-A baseball, and never played at the Triple-A level again, or in the major leagues. He played for the Double-A Shreveport Sports of the Texas League from 1953-57. After 11 minor league seasons, at age 31, he retired after playing 33 games for the Mobile Bears in the Cleveland Indians organization in 1958.

## Minor league manager

After a few years playing in the minor leagues, McGaha realized he was not going to make the major leagues as a player, and began preparing himself to become a manager. In 1954, McGaha become Shreveport's player-manager. At only 27, he led the Double-A Texas League Sports to 90 victories and a regular-season pennant in his first season, though they lost in the playoffs. He led the Sports to 87 wins and a playoff title the following year. He would hold the job with Shreveport for two more years, though not as successfully.
When Cleveland hired him to join the Bears in 1958, it was likewise as player-manager. The team was 84–68 that year. After retiring as a player, he remained the Bears' manager in 1959, with the team record improving to 89–63, and winning the Southern Assocation championship. Cleveland promoted him in 1960 to manage the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, leading the team to a 100–54 record. The team won the International League's Governors' Cup playoff championship. McGaha was selected the league's Manager of the Year and The Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year. His 1960 Toronto team included two future major league managers, hall of famer Sparky Anderson and Chuck Tanner.

## Manager of Indians and Athletics

In 1961, he was promoted to a coaching position with the parent Cleveland Indians, then became their manager at age 35 in 1962, succeeding Jimmie Dykes. The team's early season performance gave some the thought he might be manager of the year. The team was 48–37 at the All-Star break, tied with the New York Yankees for first place. The team declined steeply after that (30–45 after the break), and McGaha was told before the team's final two games he would be fired, and he left the team with two games remaining in his maiden season. Cleveland finished at 78–82 in sixth place in the ten-team American League. He was particularly criticized for his handling of Cleveland's pitching staff.
In 1963, McGaha became a coach for the Kansas City Athletics, also working as an executive for the A's. In June 1964, with the Athletics in last place under manager Eddie Lopat, owner Charlie Finley, known for his quick trigger finger in hiring and firing, abruptly shifted McGaha into the Kansas City front office; then, a few days later, moved him back onto the field as Lopat's successor. Just a day before taking over as the A's manager, he had been assigned to manage the A's Wytheville, Virginia rookie team, but never made it before becoming the A's manager.
Lopat's record was 17–35 when he left the team. He was assigned as a minor league consultant for the A's. The A's revived somewhat, but still finished in last place. Their record was 40–70–1 under McGaha. McGaha was fired by Finley on May 15, 1965, season after a 5–21 start; on that day, his team was still locked in the league basement, 131⁄2 games out of the lead. He was replaced by Haywood Sullivan. By the end of the year, Finley hired Alvin Dark as an executive consultant, as McGaha had been before he eventually replaced Lopat; and Finley did replace Sullivan with Dark in 1966.
In part of three seasons as a Major League manager, McGaha posted a 123–173 record (.416). Following his big-league managing career, he worked for the Houston Astros as pilot of the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers (1966–67) and in the Venezuelan Winter League. He next became the Astro's first-base coach for three seasons (1968–70).

### Managerial record

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| Team | Year | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
| CLE | 1962 | 160 | 78 | 82 | .488 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| KCA | 1964 | 110 | 40 | 70 | .364 | 10th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| KCA | 1965 | 26 | 5 | 21 | .192 | Fired | – | – | – | – |
| KCA total | KCA total | 135 | 45 | 91 | .331 | | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Total | Total | 296 | 123 | 173 | .416 | | 0 | 0 | – | |

## Basketball coach

In addition to his baseball managing, McGaha also spent two years as the head men's basketball coach at Arkansas A&M College (now the University of Arkansas at Monticello), serving as the head coach in 1953-54 and 1954–55. He posted a 32–15 (.681) record during his two years as the Boll Weevils' head coach.

## Personal life and death

McGaha was a member of the 1948 Duluth Dukes and was one of the survivors of a July 24 bus crash in which four players and their manager were killed in a head-on accident with a truck.
After retiring from major league baseball in 1970, he was a director of Parks and Recreation in Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana. He also became president of Shreveport’s Double-A minor league team; briefly worked as an executive for an El Paso minor league team; and scouted regionally for the Yankees. He was very involved in building a minor league baseball stadium in Shreveport in the 1980s. He moved to a retirement home in Grand Lake, Oklahoma after suffering health issues. He died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at age 75.

## BAA career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
| 1948–49 | New York | 51 | .318 | .591 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
| Career | Career | 51 | .318 | .591 | 1.0 | 3.5 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
| 1949 | New York | 2 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | .5 |
| Career | Career | 2 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | .5 |