Charlie Dressen was born in Decatur, Illinois on September 20, 1898, and entered professional baseball in 1919. He played with Peoria, Illinois and St. Paul, Minnesota before being sold in 1924 to the Cincinnati Reds for $57,000 plus two players. He held the distinction of being the only man to have been on three New York championship clubs: the Giants in 1933, the Dodgers in 1941, and the Yankees in 1947. Charlie had successfully coached for the Yankees and was a colorful character in his own right. In 1949, Oakland Oaks' owner Brick Laws handpicked him to replace manager Casey Stengel, who had been called up to manage the Yankees after guiding the Oaks to their fabulous pennant victory of 1948.

It was difficult at first for the players and the fans to get used to Dressen's style. Although he seemed to know more about baseball than Casey, Casey seemed to know more about men. Dressen was more patient with the rookies and they learned under his tutelage, but he remained rather aloof. He soon gained the reputation as one of the best sign-stealers in the league as well as using a lot of signs himself.

With the aging veterans left over from 1948, Oakland did not fare too well at the beginning of the 1949 season. Dressen and Laws acquired the Oaks' first black player, Artie Wilson, to play shortstop, and moved Billy Martin back to second base. In a two-day period, they also sold outfielder George Metkovich and pitcher Lloyd Hittle, and waived Dario Lodigiani to the Seals a few days later. Finally, they traded the Oaks' stalwart veteran catcher Billy Raimondi to the Solons for catcher Frankie Kerr. The cumulative effect of these deals was to dramatically change the character of the team and to turn many of the old fans against Dressen.

Charlie Dressen (r.) with George Kelly

Dressen's coach was future Hall of Famer George "Highpockets" Kelly. The two of them had had a long association together as players for the Cincinnati Reds. By the end of the 1949 season, they had produced the best team in the league, but because of the poor performance at the beginning they finished in second place, five games behind the Hollywood Stars. However, in 1950, with the team they had built in the preceding year, along with some new acquisitions, Dressen lead the team to their second pennant in two years.

Like Casey, because of his success in Oakland, Charlie Dressen was rewarded with a major league managerial position the next year. In the 1952 and 1953 seasons he led the Brooklyn Dodgers to two consecutive National League pennants. He then made the mistake of demanding a three year contract from Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley. Apparently taking offense at the demand, O'Malley fired him, and Brick Laws promptly rehired him to skipper the Oaks in 1954.

Charlie guided the Acorns to a third place finish, and handily took the post season Governor's Cup title in 1954. He was then hired to manage the Washington Senators in 1955. He went on to manage three major league teams over the next nine years. While managing the Cincinnati Reds, Charlie was reunited with Kelly again as his coach. Charles Dressen died while managing the Detroit Tigers in 1966.

• Profile of Charlie Dressen as Manager of the Dodgers
• 1952 Topps Charlie Dressen Baseball Card
• Photo of Charlie Dressen and Jackie Robinson
• Old Chuck Dressen Player Photos