The Washington University Assembly Series will start its fall schedule with a talk by Cardinals’ manager, Tony La Russa, at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 in Graham Chapel. Assembly Series lectures are free and open to the public; due to the expected popularity of the La Russa talk, seating for the general public will be limited. Please check the Assembly Series Web site for the most current information: http://assemblyseries.wustl.edu/ or call (314) 935-5285.
A booksigning, also open to the public, will be held at the Campus Bookstore before the lecture, beginning at 9:45 a.m.
By any measure, La Russa is one of baseball’s greatest coaches. At this writing, he ranks third on the all-time managerial wins list. Now in his tenth season at the Cardinals’ helm, he has taken the St. Louis team to five postseason appearances including last year’s World Series. He is the career leader in wins among active managers and ranks third all-time on the Cardinals managerial wins list. In 2002 he was named National League Manager of the Year.
La Russa began his managing career in 1978 with Knoxville in the Class – AA Southern League before taking his first major league managing job in 1979 with the Chicago White Sox. In 1983 he led Chicago to the American League West title and finished with the best record in the major leagues that year. He has also received honors from the Sporting News, the Associated Press and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
In 1980 he begin managing the Oakland Athletics, and guided them to their fourth World Championship. While with the As, he earned another Manager of the Year award.
Before he began his management career, La Russa played the game, first as an infielder with the Kansas City Athletics in 1962, then with the Oakland As. He concluded his big-league playing career with stints in Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs.
La Russa received a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the University of South Florida in Tampa, and a law degree from Florida State University. He is the founder and chair of Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) and is active in the Cardinal’s community foundation, Cardinals Care.
Considered by many to be the shrewdest mind in the game today, La Russa’s intellectual, strategically adept style of managing shines through in the current bestseller, Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager, which takes readers into the minds and hearts of La Russa and his team during a three-game series between the Cards and the Cubs.
A booksigning will be held at the Campus Bookstore before the lecture, beginning at 9:45 a.m.