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Though he earned lasting fame as a manager, Bucky Harris also had more than 5,500 MLB plate appearances. Harris came up with the Washington Senators in 1919 at age 22.

The next season Harris hit an even .300 in 136 games as the regular second baseman. In 1922 and ’23 Bucky’s play garnered him votes in MVP balloting. After the ’23 campaign team owner Clark Griffith installed him as player/manager.

Harris continued in that role through 1928 when he hit just .204. He appeared in 7 games in 1929 and 4 more in 1931 to end his playing career.

Bucky Harris’ playing statistics include 1,297 hits, 508 RBI, and a .274 average.

In the collection is this page from the 1933 edition of Who’s Who in Baseball. Harris’ signature is found near his picture at the top of the page.

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“First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.”

That was the battle cry of the Washington Senators for much of their existence. In the first 23 years of the franchise, they finished sixth, seventh, or last 14 times and had just six winning seasons.

All that changed when Stanley “Bucky” Harris was tabbed as their manager.

Owner Clark Griffith gave his 27-year old second baseman Harris the reins to the team before the 1924 season.

“You’re only a kid, as managers go, I’m gambling on you having the right stuff,” Griffith told him according to the Hall of Fame.

The Senators owner was right. In his first year, Harris piloted Washington to its first American League pennant. Harris’ squad finished two games ahead of the Yankees.

Knocking New York off the top spot was no small feat. The Yankees previously owned the decade. From 1920-1923, New York averaged more than 96 wins per season, winning three consecutive pennants starting in 1921.

The ’24 campaign was special in DC. Thirty-six year old Walter Johnson earned the AL’s pitching Triple Crown with 23 wins, a 2.72 ERA and 158 strikeouts. Harris deployed Firpo Marberry as the game’s first true reliever. The right-hander responded by leading all of baseball in appearances, saves, and games finished.

Hall of Fame Goose Goslin led the Washington offense, batting .344 with a .421 on-base percentage, and a .516 slugging mark. Goslin’s 129 RBI were tops in the AL.

Harris was spectacular in the the ’24 Mid Summer Classic, the franchise’s first postseason appearance. In the 7-game tilt against John McGraw’s New York Giants, no player had more hits or runs batted in than the Senators player/manager.

In the deciding Game 7, the Senators scored two in the eighth to tie the game. Harris brought The Big Train in for the 9th despite Johnson losing his two World Series starts in Games 1 and 6, both complete-game efforts. Pitching on just a day’s rest, Johnson quieted the New York bats for four scoreless innings. In the bottom of the 12th Washington catcher Muddy Ruel hit a one-out double. Two batters later Ruel, who scored the game-tying run in the 8th, came around to score the winning run.

At last the Senators were champions of baseball.

The following season Harris guided his team to a four-game improvement and a second consecutive American League championship. After the first four games, the Senators held a three-games-to-one advantage. Though Washington dropped Games 5,6, and 7 to the Pirates, Harris’ place in the nation’s capital and in baseball history was assured.

Shown above is a letter written and signed by manager Harris. Dated 17 days before the opening of the 1925 World Series, the letter reads, “As the World Series approaches we need your help to have a winning team. Hope you have made arrangements to come at once. You will be a great help to the team. The players seem to have more courage and pep when you’re around. Please do not fail us. Sincerely, Stanley “Bucky” Harris”

Letters from this era handwritten by members of the Hall of Fame are rarely seen.

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Cecil Travis had his best years while playing for Bucky Harris and the Senators. Especially outstanding was Travis’ 1941 campaign in which he led the league in hits. That season Ted Williams hit .406 and Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 straight.

Here Travis recalls Harris, writing, “He was a very good manager and I enjoyed playing for him. All he ask of you was give your best always on the playing field.”

Travis himself is considered a Hall of Fame candidate.

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Best known for his two pennants and 1924 World Series title with the Senators, Bucky Harris enjoyed a 29-year managerial career that included four other teams.

After piloting Washington from 1924-1928, Harris moved to Detroit for five years through 1933. In ’34 he spent a single year as skipper of the Red Sox.

Harris returned to Washington in ’35 and remained there through the 1942 campaign. There he was replaced by former teammate Ossie Bluege. Shown here is a letter to Bluege just after he took over for Harris. It is written by Roger Peckinpaugh, a teammate of both men.

In 1943 Harris had a 93-game stint with the Phillies before being fired. Unable to land a big league job, Harris managed in the minors for 1944 and ’45 then returned to the majors with the Yankees in 1947. He led New York to a World Series victory over the Dodgers and was named Manager of the Year. In ’48 the Yankees won 94 games but slid to third place. Harris was fired at the end of the season.

Bucky returned to the minors in ’49 as manager of the PCL’s San Diego Padres. Soon the Senators came calling. Harris’ third stint in Washington lasted from 1950-1954. In his autobiography titled Playing the Game, Harris joked, “Only Franklin D. Roosevelt had more terms than I did in Washington.”

Harris’ 29-year managerial career came to an end in 1956 after a two-year return to the Detroit Tigers. He left the game with 2,158 wins. At the time of Harris’ retirement only Connie Mack and John McGraw had more victories.