Don Zimmer, 1931 -
Don Zimmer was born in 1931 and has spent nearly fifty years involved in baseball. He signed on with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 and has never left the sport since. Zimmer was slated to become a great ball player, but that dream was essentially ruined by two incidents. On July 7, 1953 he was hit in the head by a pitch and remained unconcious for two weeks. he couldn't speak for six weeks and had a long recovery. But he made an amazing comeback, until again in 1956 he was hit by a ball which shattered his cheekbone. He recovered and came back again, ending his playing career with 1095 games played, including five World Series. Zimmer was also an original New York Met and an All Star in 1961.
After his playing career was over, Zimmer did not leave the field, but rather entered a different fireld and became a manager and coach of various teams. He managed in the minors and coached for the Expos and the Padres. He managed the '72 - '73 San Diego team, coached Boston before being named manager in 1976, coached the Yankees Cubs and Giants, and became the Cubs manager in 1988. In 1989 he won the Division Title and was named AP Manager of the Year.
Following his triumph as Manager of the Year, Zimmer became the bench coach for the New York Yankees and when Joe Torre was diagnosed with Prostate cancer, Zimmer took over the reigns til he returned.