Elliott: R. I. P. Russell Nixon
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
He battled a destroyer from a rowboat, golfed indoors, knew two types of Hall of Famers and was squatting when one of the most historic swings in baseball took place.
And no we don’t mean a pitcher and a position player who both made Cooperstown.
Russell Nixon, who died Tuesday in Las Vegas at age 81, managed Tom Glavine with the Atlanta Braves and managed Randy Poffo of the 1974 Class-A Tampa Tarpons. Randy Poffo? Well, you may know him as Randy (Macho Man) Savage who was elected to the WWE Hall of Fame.
We met Nixon in the spring of 1984 the first of his two seasons coaching third base for Montreal Expos managers Bill Virdon, Jim Fanning and Buck Rodgers. It wasn’t long before we appreciated Nixon’s wonderful sense of humor, the way he would raise an eye brow when another writer said something that bordered on downright dumb or his place in history.
The man did not have an ounce of arrogance in his body. And B.S? Well, he really didn’t know what the initials meant. He had a knack of knowing the game, a twinkle in his eye and a laugh I can still hear. When Andre Dawson broke out of a slump it was third base coach Nixon and not the hitting coach Dawson credited -- not the hitting coach.
Nixon was catching for the Boston Red Sox the final day of the season on Sunday, Oct. 1, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. His pal, his old roomie Roger Maris was hitting third, playing centre and sitting on 60 home runs in a lineup which included the likes of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra plus Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek, Johnny Blanchard, Elston Howard, Bill Skowron, Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh.
Tracy Stallard had struck out Kubek to open the fourth and now it was Maris’ turn with maybe three cracks left to break Babe Ruth’s record.
In 1956, Maris and Nixon were teammates at Double-A Indianapolis. In 1957, and for part of 1958, they were with the Cleveland Indians before Maris was dealt to Kansas City.
In late July of 1961, the two went out for dinner in Cleveland. Nixon said enthusiastically to Maris -- who had 36 homers at the time -- “This thing is heating up, you’ve got a chance.” A chance to break Ruth’s record.
Maris did not share the excitement telling Nixon, ”I’m glad to be on the road.” Roger told Nixon he was “getting pulverized,” had no time to do get his work in, the only time he had peace was when the game started. He was pummelled by the press.
“He was happy to get the season over.”
Nixon said stories about Maris losing his hair in clumps are true.
Boston-New York. Final weekend. The Yanks were hiding Mantle and Maris in a New Jersey hotel away from the press Nixon recalled. Nixon flashed Stallard the sign for a fastball. Nixon never caught the pitch as Maris pulled the ball into the seats in right to pass Ruth.
“The ball was about 50 feet fair, about 10 rows up, probably about 330-340 feet,” said Galen Cisco, pitching coach of the Blue Jays back-to-back World Series teams, who was in the Sox bullpen that day.
“Tracy pitched a hell of game, he got beat was 1-0 on the home run, but he got notoriety for giving up the homer.”
During the game the wives -- Glenda Nixon and Martha Cisco -- drove home from the Bronx to Ohio to start the off-season. Soon after the game the Russ Nixon and Galen Cisco headed home in another car after a 76-86 season under Boston manager Pinky Higgins.
When they reached the Cisco homestead in St. Mary’s, Veryl Cisco, Galen’s father, asked Nixon for a catcher’s mitt so he could play catch with his grandchildren. Nixon went out to the car and gave him his “gamer.”
“Which was fine until next February,” said Nixon with his patented giggle “a nice man from the Hall of Fame showed up in camp and asked for the mitt I was using on the final day of the season when Roger hit his home run. I couldn’t really tell him it was inside the Cisco homestead back in St. Mary’s ... I gave him another one.”
* * *
Each spring the Expos would have a reception for their advertisers pool side at the Holiday Inn in Palm Beach Gardens. I was standing talking to the legendary Serge Touchette of Le Journal de Montreal, when Nixon came along and said hello.
Then, Valerie Touchette, Serge’s petite blonde daughter who was nine, stopped by. Valerie didn’t speak a lot of English, although her English was a lot better than my French. I had known her for three years, so Serge introduced Nixon to his daughter. I can tell he is telling her that is a coach, not a player ...
As he was explaining, Valerie said that she had seen Nixon at games at Municipal Stadium and continued talking. Touchette nearly fell into the pool. It took almost a minute before Touchette stopped laughing.
Nixon and I egarly awaited the translation “Papa I know what he does ... he stands by third when Tim Wallach is not there and looks into the stands at all the pretty girls.”
Valerie was smart then an indication of the woman she would become.
* * *
Nixon broke into pro ball in 1953 with Class-D Green Bay, played at Class-D Jacksonville Beach the next year, Class-B Keokuk in 1955 and the next year Double-A Indianapolis.
He made the 1957 Indians as a back up to Jim Hegan and spent the next 12 years in the majors. He was the No. 1 guy with the 1958-59 Indians, moved on to the Boston Red Sox (who sent him to triple-A Toronto for 31 games when he hit .323), Minnesota Twins and back to Boston in 1968 his final year.
During the spring of 1960, Cleveland dealt Nixon to Boston for catcher Sammy White and first baseman Jim Marshall. White chose to retire and the trade was cancelled. Nixon was returned to sender, started the regular season with Cleveland and after 25 games he was Boston bound again. This time he was dealt along with outfielder Carroll Hardy for Vancouver pitcher Ted Bowsfield and outfielder Marty Keough.
With the 1961 Sox, Nixon had a pinch hit single facing Marty Kutyna of the Washington Senators to knock in the winning run capping an eight-run ninth for a 13-12 win. Boston won the nightcap of the doubleheader 6-5 in 13 innings when catcher Jim Pagliaroni homered off Tom Sturdivant.
With the 1963 Red Sox Nixon roomed with infielder Dick Williams, who went on to become a Hall of Fame manager and lefty reliever Arnold Early. So, what did the threesome do on rainy days when sharing a room at the old Beacon Hotel.
Well, they would open the window and then play golf -- longest ball out the window wins. And later they discovered the game of Bathroom Golf. A player would chip the ball into the giant bathroom with the marble floors, another would slam the door and a third would time to see exactly how long the ball bounced.
“The key was to being longest was to get the ball into the tub,” Nixon said. “Then it would rattle around pretty good.”
And they say baseball is a kid’s game played by grown men.
After retiring, Nixon managed the Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate in 1970 at Class-A Sioux Falls then moved on to managing Class-A Tampa from 1971 to 1975. These were the days of the Big Red Machine when the organization went five straight seasons without changing a manager from Riverfront Stadium to the lowest rung under GM Bob Howsam.
I really don’t recall how it came up but once I mentioned to Nixon that the high-flying Macho Man Savage might have been the most athletic wrassler I had ever seen. He was not my fave but he was right there behind Brett Hart, Ric Flair and Boxin’ Bob Orton. Nixon said he had managed Savage, then known as Randy Poffo in 1974 at Tampa.
“I didn’t know how good he was going to be as a wrestler, but I did know he was not a ball player,” Nixon said with that twinkle in his eye.
It was Poffo’s fourth and final season in the minors, after three years in the St. Louis system with the rookie-Class Gulf Coast Cardinals and class-A Orangeburg. Savage was a switch-hitting outfielder and first baseman.
So years later Savage was coming to Toronto for a card. An interview was set up thanks to WWF boss Jack Tunney, who told me what assumed name Savage was using and I called him at the Rochester, N.Y., hotel where he was staying.
“WELL YA KNOW, I GOTTA TELL YOU ... THE THING ABOUT ...” Savage began, totally wound, totally in character as if being interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund.
Sorry, I wanted to talk to you about playing baseball ...
“Oh, okay, sure what do you need?” said Savage in a normal voice, as he hit the off button to his ring persona.
About 10 minutes into our conversation, he turned said: “hold on a second, hey Elizabeth! This guy knows more about me than I remember.”
He was speaking of course to his brilliant manager Miss Elizabeth.
* * *
Nixon, who attended University of Cincinnati, was promoted to a coaching position with the defending World Series champion Reds under Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson in 1976. The Big Red Machine scored a second Series, sweeping the New York Yankees in 1977.
Anderson was fired after the 1978 season, and Nixon remained on the Reds’ staff under the new manager, John McNamara, in 1979. McNamara was fired July 21 in 1982 and Nixon took his place but his Reds went 27-43 the rest of the way en route to its only 100-loss season in franchise history. When the Reds finished last again in 1983 with 74 wins, Nixon was fired.
* * *
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle played for the 1982 Reds.
Wrote Hurdle: “Russ was a man’s man.
“He was a pro.
“He taught the game.
“He loved the game.
“He had a great smile.
“He believed in hard work and meeting the demands of the game.
“He was fair.
“He looked you in the eye when he talked to you and he cared about you.
“He feared nothing on the field and fed. He respected everything on the field. It was an honor to play for him.”
* * *
Hall of Famer Johnny Bench was there when Nixon arrived as a coach and played for Nixon when he managed, retiring from the Reds after the 1983 season.
“Russ was one of my all-time favorite coaches and a great friend,” Bench wrote in an email. “He understood the game inside and out. He realized the pressure of the day-to-day rigors and had an available ear that allowed me to talk with him and share any frustrations and elations.
“He was the ultimate professional and had the respect because of his career. I looked forward to arriving at the clubhouse every day because he brought the biggest smile with him to work and could brighten your day and ease the troubled times.”
* * *
Once Nixon told us of an Expo off day in San Diego where he hooked up with the future Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, his former Red Sox teammate, to go fishing.
After some stories and a maybe the odd beer, both feel asleep in the boat in Mission Bay.
They awoke to hear someone on a loudspeaker from a naval destroyer, telling them they’d drifted far too close. They were told to get away from the ship NOW!
“Dick wakes up, stands and gives the guy heck,” Nixon said. “We’re in a row boat and Dick is yelling at a guy on a destroyer.
“We laughed at that one ... once we got back to the dock.”
* * *
After Montreal, developments in Toronto led to Nixon’s next job. Leading the Kansas City Royals 3-1, the Blue Jays lost the 1985 best-of-seven American League World Series. As Toronto executives took the bus in from the airport to the World Series headquarters hotel in St. Louis someone from another club said. “Sorry to hear about your manager?”
Manager Cox?
Yep. Ted Turner had hired Cox to be his GM. Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Chuck Tanner had been hired to manage a few days before. Nixon played with Tanner in Cleveland and headed to Double-A Greenville to run the Atlanta affiliate.
Tanner was banged after a slow start -- 27 losses in their first 39 games -- in 1988, Nixon took over for Tanner and played the young kids as Cox wanted, but the season ended with 106 losses. Then, Nixon had a 97 loss season breaking in future Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz plus Steve Avery.
* * *
Nixon loved his young lefty Tom Glavine. Nixon once took an Ottawa reporter covering the Expos all the way to a back field in West Palm Beach to introduce the writer to Glavine. That would not happen in today’s game.
Nixon on Glavine: “He is the most no-BS guy I’ve come across. He never has an excuse. He just pitches.”
Glavine on Nixon: “Russ was a good man and certainly a good baseball man. He was a big help to me early in my career.”
The Hall of Fame lefty remembered Nixon calling him into his office when the Braves were at Wrigley Field in Chicago in 1988.
“He told me to relax,” Glavine said via email. “I had been struggling, looking over my shoulder so to speak ... waiting to get sent down. He told me relax. You are getting the ball every fifth day. He said we don’t have anybody better than you to call up, so figure it out.
“I can’t tell you how helpful that was for me at that time. That allowed me to focus on getting better and more consistent and not so much on how many games I was winning or losing. We weren’t winning many as a team at that time. Seems simple but like I said it allowed me to focus on the process and not so much the results. I had a much better second half even though I didn’t win a whole lot.”
Glavine, 22, was 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA pitching 195 1/3 innings.
* * *
Cox fired Nixon June 22, 1990 when Nixon had a 25-40 record. Cox took over managing. Again the Braves finished last with 97 defeats. But the next year, Cox’s first full season the Braves won the first of 14 straight division titles -- not counting 1994, the strike year.
Was Nixon bitter, he was asked 16 months after he was fired as the Braves were about to play the Minnesota Twins in the Worst-to-First World Series, since both teams had been last in 1990.
“I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t bitter,” said Nixon who managed Triple-A Portland for the Twins.
“Russ managed for us in the minors,” said former Twins boss Terry Ryan. “He was very knowledgeable with a built in respect and credibility because of history in the Major Leagues. Russ was a popular guy, very confident. He did a good job for us.”
Looking back on his Braves days Nixon once told us there was a difference between the 1991 Braves and the club he ran: “The club didn’t go out and get me any players.”
When Cox went into the dugout, John Schuerholz came over from the Kansas City Royals to became GM. And in one month the Braves spent $33 million of Ted Turner’s money to sign NL batting champ Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Rafael Belliard. Pendleton took over for Jim Presley, Bream moved to first so David Justice could move to right and the sure-handed Belliard played more games at short than Jeff Blauser.
“We traded for Ernie Whitt and Cox told me to play him ahead of Greg Olson, Olson wound up being the all-star,” said Nixon.
* * *
Nixon coached third for the Seattle Mariners and manager Bill Plummer in 1992. On the M’s visit to SkyDome in July we went for a bite to eat post game. He asked how my son, Bob, Jr. was doing. I said he was still playing and pitching this year. However, he was having control problems and I was of zero help.
Russell says pick me up at the hotel, we’ll work him out, your wife can make me lunch and then we’ll go back downtown to the park. We came to Mississauga went to Thornlodge Public School as my son got loose. Now he’s ready to pitch. Russell is standing with my son and I am squatting.
After about five strikes, my son bounces five pitches in a row ... and I only was able to get out of the way of two of them. It was shin city. I fire the ball back and yelled at him “mix in a strike, let’s go.”
Russell and my son both break out laughing: my pal Russell had been telling my son to bounce pitches in the dirt on purpose.
Later in the month the Jays visited Seattle and won three of four by scores of 7-2 (Jack Morris beating Randy Johnson), 3-0 (Juan Guzman over Dave Fleming) and 8-4 (David Wells over Rich DeLucia). Erik Hanson got the Seattle win over Jimmy Key 8-6.
We forget which game, one day but the writers were booted out of the Jays clubhouse. No one knew why.
“Ah, they’re probably in there voting on World Series shares, Toronto is the best team I’ve seen in a long time.”
And the Jays won on Dave Winfield’s double in Atlanta.
* * *
Nixon managed Triple-A Las Vegas in 1993-94 -- which was good for him and Glenda because it meant living at home. And in 1998 he went back to work for the Reds. For the first half of this season, he would be at Triple-A Indianapolis as a coach and then in June, he was off to manage the Rookie-class Billings Mustangs, a team composed of first-year pros.
Now, the 1998 season was when McGwire chased Maris’ single-season home run mark. That spring Nixon predicted either Ken Griffey or McGwire would give the record a shot as so many others had.
“Then Sammy Sosa came along,” Nixon said. “He had never hit more than 40, Roger had never hit more than 39. Sosa was having Roger’s year. I hope baseball realizes how it lucked out. The game has been beat on because of what baseball did to itself with the work stoppages. Something was needed to revive the game. I haven’t seen this much interest in a long time.”
As they got closer highlights of Maris’ record-breaking drive 37 years before were shown even in Billings Stallard with the pitch, Maris the swing and Nixon squatting.
“In June, 80% of the Billings kids didn’t know who Roger was,” Nixon said. “Hell, half of the kids didn’t know who Ted Williams was. As the season progressed they’d see the replays and they’d ask me ‘is that really you, you’re really that old?’”
Of course he laughed at that part. As Bench said he could brighten up a day with that smile of his. His Billings roster that year included future major leaguers B.J. Ryan, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Corky Miller, Todd Coffey, Josh Hall, John Koronka and Bobby Madritsch.
In 1974, Dodgers infielders Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey all shook hands with Hank Aaron after he hit his 715th homer, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time list.
When McGwire crossed home plate at Busch Stadium, he crossed paths with Cubs catcher Scott Servais, who he barely knew. The two hugged after the record-breaking 62nd homer.
When Maris hit No. 61 Oct. 1, 1961, he toured the bases head down and didn’t say a word, touched the plate crossed paths with good friend and former roomie Nixon. Nixon looked away.
“If I had done what Servais did, I would have been fined,” Nixon said. “There wasn’t any arm bumping like Mark Grace with McGwire at first. That wasn’t kosher. If you did something like that someone would knock you on your butt in our day. I didn’t say a word to Roger, I got out of the way, photographers were rushing onto the field.”
There were only 23,154 fans at Yankee Stadium for Maris’ historic homer.
“Roger was treated in an awful manner,” Nixon said. “(Commissioner) Ford Frick was highly protective of Babe Ruth, wanting to put an asterisk beside Roger’s name (in the record book) since Roger played 162 games instead of 154 (that Ruth played).
“Everyone wanted Mickey to beat Ruth, they didn’t see Roger as a Yankee, since he came from K.C. They forgot Ruth wasn’t an original Yankee and came from Boston. Some people hated Maris, most loved Mantle and Babe was the king of all kings. People didn’t want The Babe’s record broken.”
* * *
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by going to Vegas after the 1997 winter meetings, which would have meant it was 27 years. Getting married in October was not a good time for celebrations because it was in the midst of post-season play.
Not that my wife is a prude, but she was really not into seeing the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes show due to how little they wore. I wanted to because A) I’d heard mother and father had gone to see them on their honeymoon in New York in 1948 and B) we could not get any tickets for anything else.
The next night my wife and I went for diner with Glenda and Russell. I complained about being unable to buy tickets to the shows my wife wanted to see.
“You know most people buy their tickets before they come,” Russell said his eyes twinkling. He suggested that his son, Chris, who worked at Bally’s would get us tickets for the next night.
Hmmm. Now, what kind of a show was he sending us to?
“Oh, it’s just an old fashioned Vegas review named Jubilee,” said Nixon, but this time both eyes were twinkling.
We went to the show. It was a musical and the first number was nothing different that I’ve seen on Broadway. Lots of dancing and singing.
The second song ... well the side wall on the right pulled up its curtain revealing three levels of dancing girls and same with the wall on the left. If memory serves I counted 48 topless dancing women on stage and the two sides of the theatre. My wife did not see the humor of it.
Soon as the show was over I phoned Russell.
“How did you like the show, were you able to see everything?” he asked giggling like a 10-year-old. He loved when I would tell that story later on when I’d meet him when he was working for the Texas Rangers or the Houston Astros.
* * *
Paul Ricciarini grew up in Pittsfield, Mass. (or San Pedro de Pittsfield for all the baseball people who come from there: major leaguer Tom Grieve, scout Tom Mooney and Ricciarini).
Ricciarini revered any former Red Sox player. The long-time scout and Nixon crossed paths many times first when both worked for the Braves in the late 1980’s and then reuniting again with Houston.
“Russ always wanted the kids that were the toughest challenges to develop, which says something about his character,” Ricciarini said.
Now with the Miami Marlins he told a story about visiting Nixon in Salem, Va. where he was managing. At the time Ricciarini’s mother was in failing health and facing a difficult surgery which his family thought was a longshot at best.
“Russ broke out his private stash of Blanton’s Bourbon, which he reserved for special occasions only, in his office, post-game to both console and pick me up a bit,” he said. “He talked about how lucky we both were to have solid family backgrounds that inspired our careers in professional baseball, all while enabling me to smile and let go of the stress of her situation.
“A few glasses worth afterwards about 1:30 a.m. my cell phone rang and I saw my brothers number show. With a big pit in my gut, I answered. To my surprise, against big odds, I was told she was going to be fine.”
Once he was off the phone Ricciarini looked at Russ “we looked at the bottle and re-dedicated a couple rounds more to a BETTER CAUSE!!!”
“That man pulled us all through one of the most difficult nights I ever dealt with,” he said. “It was his story telling, so many experiences and a great big heart that really carried us not only that night but for years of wonderful friendship and respect.
“I will miss Russ, he was a dedicated player, coach, instructor and mostly a respected friend ... R.I.P. Mr. Nixon.”
* * *
Russell often talked about his twin brother Roy, who signed with Cleveland too, but never made the majors. Russell would ask if we’d ever met since Roy was working the back security gate at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
It took a few visits to see Joey Votto before I remembered to go in the proper entrance and there was Roy. It was like looking at Russell.
“Finally,” I said, handing him my pass, “I get to meet the good lucking twin.”
Without missing a beat, he said “sorry, we have orders, you are banned from the stadium.” He had the same twinkle and a similar laugh.
Often when he came to the press box lunch room on break we’d sit and chat and keep me posted on “bad-looking twin.”
Russell managed at Class-A Lexington in 2003, then Class-A 2004 Salem the next year and in his final year he managed Class-A Greeneville in 2005. In all, he managed 2,545 games including the minors and the majors.
* * *
Russell Nixon lived a wonderful life.
He touched many lives.
He had the gift of patience.
He made the day brighter from the best Hall of Famer like Bench to the greenest writer like me.
Deepest sympathies are extended to his wife Glenda, daughters Rebel, Samantha and Misty. son Chris and their extended family.