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Lee Constantine Elia
Chicago Cubs
Infield
Born: July 16, 1937, Philadelphia, PA
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, September 13, 1958
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1966; Chicago Cubs 1968
As a Manager: Chicago Cubs 1982-1983; Philadelphia Phillies 1987-1988
Lee Elia was an infielder for parts of two seasons with the White Sox and Cubs, and he's best remembered for his lengthy coaching and managerial career in the majors. Elia was signed by his hometown Phillies and played six seasons in their minor league systems before a trade following the 1964 season sent him to the White Sox. He'd appear in 80 games for the White Sox in 1966, batting .205 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. Sold to the Cubs in May 1967, Elia would spend all of the 1967 season in the minor leagues before getting promoted to the Cubs in 1968. He'd appear in just 15 games for the Cubs. His big league totals include 95 games, 43 hits and a .203 batting average.
Elia returned to the Phillies organization in 1973, and he began his minor league managerial career in 1975. He'd climb the ranks of the Phillies minor league system, earning a promotion to be bench coach for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981. Elia followed Dallas Green to Chicago when Green departed as the Phillies' manager to become the Cubs' general manager. Green named his former third base coach manager of the Cubs for the 1982 season, but Elia's team struggled and he'd be dismissed part way through 1983. Returning to the Phillies again, Elia was manager John Felske's bench coach in 1985, 1986 and part of the 1987 season. When Felske was fired, Elia took over and he'd manage the Phillies to a 111-142 record through the remainder of 1987 and most of 1988. Elia's lifetime managerial record was 238-300. A baseball lifer, Elia also coached at the major league level for the Yankees (1989), Mariners (1993-1997, 2001-2002, 2008), Blue Jays (2000), Rays (2003-2005) and Orioles (2006).
Lee Elia was an infielder for parts of two seasons with the White Sox and Cubs, and he's best remembered for his lengthy coaching and managerial career in the majors. Elia was signed by his hometown Phillies and played six seasons in their minor league systems before a trade following the 1964 season sent him to the White Sox. He'd appear in 80 games for the White Sox in 1966, batting .205 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. Sold to the Cubs in May 1967, Elia would spend all of the 1967 season in the minor leagues before getting promoted to the Cubs in 1968. He'd appear in just 15 games for the Cubs. His big league totals include 95 games, 43 hits and a .203 batting average.
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| 2010-22 Philadelphia Phillies Alumni Photo Cards |
Building the Set / Card #300
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
This is milestone card #300! Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
This is milestone card #300! Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the eighth of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -10
Elia is wearing a White Sox uniform, and it looks as if a player from another team (Red Sox?) is taking batting practice behind him. Let's assume that's a Red Sox player, and if the photo is from 1966, when Elia played for the White Sox, that would be Rico Petrocelli (#215), who wore #6 for Boston. The cartoon on the back highlights Elia's 14 home runs and 59 RBIs from the 1967 season.
Accuracy Index: Elia loses points since he didn't play for the Cubs in 1969 (-2), he's wearing a White Sox uniform (-5) and his hat is blank (-3).
1969 Season
Elia never played for the Cubs in 1969. On April 19th he was traded to the Yankees for infielder Nate Oliver (#354), and I can only assume injuries derailed his season. He played in just 17 games for the Syracuse Chiefs, batting .283 (15 for 53), in his final action as a player until a brief stint with the Eugene Emeralds in 1973 as a player-coach.
Elia spent seven seasons (1959-1964, 1973) as a player in the Phillies' minor league system, making it as high as Triple-A, but never earning a promotion. On December 1, 1964, Elia and Danny Cater (#44) were traded to the White Sox for Ray Herbert and Jeoff Long. He'd return to the Phillies organization as a minor league player-coach in 1973, a full-time coach in 1974 and as a manager between 1975 and 1979. Elia was named Minor League Manager of the Year twice, in 1975 when he led the Spartanburg Phillies to the Western Carolinas Championship, and in 1978 when he guided the Reading Phillies to a 79-57 record.
Elia was promoted to the Phillies in 1980, where he was the third base coach for the eventual World Champions. He'd serve in the role again in 1981, before Green lured him away to Chicago. Elia managed the Phillies' Triple-A team in 1984 and took over as Felske's bench coach in 1985. When Felske was fired on June 18, 1987, Elia assumed the role. He was fired with nine games remaining in the 1988 season, with John Vukovich briefly serving as interim manager. Elia would return to the Phillies organization a few more times, most notable serving as the Single-A Clearwater Phillies manager in 1990 and 1991, and as the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons manager in 1992.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #529
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1966-1969, 1983, 1987-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1992 Fleer ProCards #2462
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 44 in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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