On March 29, 1954 Phil Cavaretta Makes History
1954: Sometimes, honesty is not the best policy if you want to keep your job, especially if you’re the manager of the inept Chicago Cubs.
In his 21st season with the organization, manager Phil Cavaretta says the Cubs, who finished seventh last season, have no chance this year. The honest assessment of the team so angers owner Phil Wrigley that he fires Cavaretta today for his defeatist attitude.
“When he picked everyone but us to finish in the first division he was licked before he started,” Wrigley says. “He said he did not have the kind of players he wanted. He had sort of given up on the boys, feeling that they weren’t pennant material.”
Cavaretta says, “I thought it my duty to give Mr. Wrigley frank views on the club’s ability. I told him that our catching staff was shaky. I reminded him that only a couple of our young players looked like prospects and that some of our regulars were getting along in baseball age. If that’s a defeatist attitude, then I’m guilty.”
With Stan Hack replacing Cavaretta, the Cubs with fulfill their former manager’s prophecy and finish seventh again.