William Ellis Russell (born October 21, 1948, in Pittsburg, Kansas) is a former shortstop, coach and manager in American Major League Baseball. Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series champion. Jump to: navigation, search October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Pittsburg is a city located in Crawford County, Kansas. ... The position of the shortstop A shortstop moves to his left, toward the center of the field, to play a ground ball Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. ... In the baseball game, the coach is a member of the team at bat stationed near first or third base to signal and direct the runners and batters. ... Jump to: navigation, search In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager; this individual controls matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. ... Jump to: navigation, search MLB logo Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ... Brooklyn Dodgers redirects here. ... This article refers to the American baseball league. ... Jump to: navigation, search The World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winner of the American League and the pennant winner of the National League. ...

A righthanded batter and thrower, Russell came to the Dodgers as a 20-year-old rookie outfielder in 1969 and his first two MLB seasons were spent in the outfield (veteran Maury Wills was the Dodger shortstop). During the 1970-71 offseason, Russell was converted to a second baseman, and then - the following year - to shortstop, becoming a regular in 1972. Russell was the club's everyday shortstop for the next 12 years, anchoring an infield that included third baseman Ron Cey, second baseman Davey Lopes and first baseman Steve Garvey. Russell batted .263 over his regular season career, and - coincidentally - posted the same average in 23 World Series games in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981. Russell's finest Fall Classic was in 1978, when he garnered 11 hits and batted .423 in a losing effort against the New York Yankees. He also hit .337 over five National League Championship Series. The Rookie: Norman Rockwells cover for The Saturday Evening Post Rookie is a term for a person who is in their first year of play of their sport and has little or no experience. ... An outfielder moves in to catch a fly ball Outfielder is a collective term including left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder, the three positions in baseball farthest from the batter. ... See also: 1968 in sports, other events of 1969, 1970 in sports and the list of years in sports. // Auto Racing Stock car racing: LeeRoy Yarborough won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship - David Pearson Indianapolis 500 - Mario Andretti USAC Racing - Mario Andretti won the season championship Formula One Championship - Jackie... Maurice Morning Maury Wills (born October 2, 1932 in Washington, DC) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959-66, 1969-72), and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967-68) and Montreal Expos (1969). ... The position of the second baseman A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base. ... See also: 1971 in sports, 1973 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing Stock car racing: A.J. Foyt won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship - Richard Petty Indianapolis 500 - Mark Donohue USAC Racing - Joe Leonard won the season championship Formula One Championship - Brazil 24 hours of... The position of the third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in the sport of baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base, the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in a counterclockwise succession in order to score a run. ... Ronald Charles Cey (born February 15, 1948 in Tacoma, Washington) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1971-82), Chicago Cubs (1983-86) and Oakland Athletics (1987). ... Jump to: navigation, search David Earl Lopes (born May 3, 1945 in East Providence, Rhode Island) is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. ... The position of the first baseman First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that players team. ... Steve Garvey, born Steven Patrick Garvey (December 22, 1948 in Tampa, Florida), is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career in the National League for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969-82) and San Diego Padres (1983-87). ... Batting average is a statistic in both baseball and cricket measuring the performance of baseball hitters and cricket batsmen, respectively. ... 1974 World Series Logo The 1974 World Series matched the two-time defending champion Oakland Athletics against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... 1977 World Series Logo The 1977 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in six games to capture their first title since 1962, and their 21st overall. ... 1978 World Series Logo The 1978 World Series matched the defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rematch of the 1977 Series, with the Yankees winning in six games to repeat as champions. ... 1981 World Series Logo The 1981 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their third meeting in the Series in five years. ... In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielders choice. ... Jump to: navigation, search The New York Yankees are a Major League baseball team based in The Bronx, New York City. ... Jump to: navigation, search In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series (NLCS) determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to baseballs championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. ...

After his retirement as a player in 1986, Russell became a coach on manager Tom Lasorda's staff in 1987. In 1992-93, he piloted the Dodgers' AAA farm club, the Albuquerque Dukes of the Pacific Coast League, but posted losing records each season. He then rejoined Larsorda and the Los Angeles coaching staff and was considered by many the heir apparent to Lasorda's job. In June 1996, the 69-year-old skipper suffered a mild heart attack and Russell was named acting manager. But when Lasorda's health had recovered, the Dodger front office decided to make Russell's appointment permanent on July 29. Russell finished the 1996 season, compiling a record of 49-37 and bringing the Dodgers home in second place. The following year, he directed the Dodgers to an 88-74 mark and another runner-up finish in the NL West. However, when the 1998 club stumbled to a 36-38 start - and with the News Corporation poised to buy the team - Russell was released June 21 in a general housecleaning. His final managing record was 173-149 (.537). Thomas Charles Lasorda (born September 22, 1927) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. ... The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ... The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States. ... See also: 1995 in sports, other events of 1996, 1997 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship - Terry Labonte Rusty Wallace wins the Suzuka NASCAR Thunder 100 at Suzuka City November 24, the first NASCAR... News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) NYSE: NWS is one of the worlds largest media conglomerates. ...

Russell then left the Dodgers, severing a 30-plus year association. He then coached for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and managed farm teams of both Tampa Bay and the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers' archrivals. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. ... The farm system is a slang term in American Major League Baseball. ... The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. ...