Oldest Coaches/Managers in History

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 21, 2011

Oldest Coaches/Managers in History

Jack McKeon, 80

Eighty-year-old Jack McKeon, who was named manager of the Florida Marlins recently, has managed somewhere in baseball in each of the past five decades. Here's a look at some others who stuck around into their senior years.

Connie Mack, 88

The incomparable Mack holds MLB records for wins, losses and games managed (7,755.). Mack managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1894 to '96 and the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950. Mack was 88 in his last year in Philadelphia.

John Gagliardi, 84

One month older than Joe Paterno, the 84-year old Gagliardi is the oldest coach in sports today. Leading the Division III Saint John's University Blazers (Minnesota), Gagliardi has racked up 454 wins, (478 total when counting his previous job) making him the winningest coach in the history of college football. Gagliardi and Paterno are two of the three active coaches who've been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Joe Paterno, 84

The legendary 84-year old Penn State Football coach has called the plays in Happy Valley for 61 years. Paterno has won two national championships and holds the record for most Division-I-A /FBS wins (401) and bowl wins (24). He survived calls for his outster following lackluster seasons earlier this decade and says he has no intention of stepping down anytime soon.

Bobby Bowden, 80

The former Florida State coach was pushed into retirement in 2009 at the age of 80. The rocky finish doesn't take away from Bowden's storied career. He finished with a record of 377-129-4, with two national championships. His second title came in 1999, when he was 70.

Casey Stengel, 76

Stengel had a solid 13-year playing career but is better known as one of the greatest managers in MLB history. Stengel had moderate success managing the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves. At 59, he was hired as manager of the Yankees where he would win seven world championships in 11 years. The crusty, quotable manager then jumped ship to the cross-town Mets at the ripe age of 72. Stengel would manage for four years in Queens before retiring because of a broken hip.

Hubie Brown, 72

The Memphis Grizzlies shocked the NBA in 2002 when they made then 69-year-old Hubie Brown their head coach. Brown, who had coached in the league 14 years earlier, was criticized as being too old for the new, fast-moving NBA. In 2003, Brown led the woeful Grizzlies to 50 wins and a playoff berth and was named coach of the year.

Felipe Alou, 71

The patriarch of one of baseball's royal families had a memorable playing career. Well respected around the league, Alou managed the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001 and the Giants from 2003 to '06. Alou was 71 in his final year in San Francisco, a key factor in his decision to retire.

George Halas, 70

Nicknamed "Papa Bear," the legendary former Bears coach and owner is known as one of the pioneers of the NFL. Halas invented the T-Formation, was the first coach to hold daily practices and came up with the idea of revenue sharing between teams, a concept that has made the NFL the most powerful league in sports today. Halas took over the Bears in 1920, when they were the Decatur Staleys. He moved them to Chicago, where he coached for the next 47 years, eventually retiring when he was 70.

Don Nelson, 70

Nelson has the most wins of any coach in NBA history (1,335), mostly because he coached longer than anybody else. The innovative founder of "Nellie ball" got his first job in 1976, coaching the Milwaukee Bucks. He coached there for 11 years before moving on to the Golden State Warriors. Nelson had coaching stints in New York and Dallas before ending up back with the Warriors in 2006. Four turbulent years later, the 70-year-old coach called it quits.

Larry Brown, 70

The well-traveled Larry Brown has coached nine NBA teams in his career. His most recent home was Charlotte, coaching the Bobcats for two years. Brown announced his retirement in 2010 at age 70.

Scotty Bowman, 69

The most successful hockey coach ever, Bowman didn't call it quits until 2002, when he was 69. Bowman won nine Stanley Cups as a coach, five with Montreal, one with Pittsburgh and three with Detroit. He finished his career in style, retiring immediately after winning his final championship.

Bear Bryant, 68

The iconic University of Alabama football coach led the Crimson Tide for 24 years, collecting six national championships along the way. Bryant coached until he was 68, becoming one of the most well known figures in the state. In a cruel twist of irony, Bryant died just weeks after announcing his retirement from coaching.

Jim Calhoun, 68

When the UConn men's basketball team won the national championship in April 2011, Calhoun, 68, became the oldest coach to win a NCAA title. The Huskies victory over Butler was Calhoun's third title and 855th victory since he started coaching in 1972.

Joe Gibbs, 67

Gibbs was the head coach of the Redskins from 1981 to '92, bringing Washington its last three Super Bowl titles. Gibbs retired and was lured into other ventures, most notably NASCAR. In 2004, Redskins owner Dan Snyder gave 64-year-old Gibbs a five-year $28.5 million contract to return to the beltway. In four years, the 'Skins made the playoffs twice, before Gibbs retired again.