Bill Slack

William Henry Slack

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lbs.

• Born May 3, 1933 in Sarnia, ON Canada

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Bill Slack pitched in the minors from 1952 to 1966. Other than 1959, he spent his career in the Boston Red Sox chain.

Slack also managed in the Red Sox chain for 17 years between 1961 and 1984, 12 1/2 of those in Winston-Salem, NC. In 1961 Slack got his start with the Red Sox, taking over the Waterloo Hawks in midyear for Matt Sczesny who was moving up to Winston-Salem. In 1962 he managed the Pocatello Chiefs in the Pioneer League. In 1963, Slack started the year with the Wellsville Red Sox, but was swapped with Sczesny and finished the year with the Winston-Salem Red Sox, where he would stay through 1968. The 1964 and 1966 clubs had the best record in the Carolina League with the '64 team winning the title. In 1969 Slack was moved down to the Greenville Red Sox in the Western Carolinas League, but he was back in Winston-Salem in 1970. After not managing for two years, Slack managed Winston-Salem again in 1973-1974. He managed the Bristol Red Sox in 1975, replacing Dick McAuliffe in midyear and leading the team to the league title, then took another two year hiatus from managing. Slack managed Winston-Salem in 1978-1979, winning the league title in 1979, took another three years off from managing, then managed Winston-Salem yet again in 1983 and in 1984, when they were re-christened the Winston-Salem Spirits.

Slack then became a pitching coach in the Atlanta Braves' chain with the Greenville Braves in 1985-1986, Durham Bulls in 1987, Greenville again in 1988-1993, Durham in 1994, Greenville in 1996, and Durham in 1997.

Slack returned to managing briefly in 2001, managing the Savannah Sand Gnats, a Texas Rangers affiliate in the South Atlantic League, until being replaced by Pedro Lopez in mid-year. He then was a coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2002-2003.

Slack won 5 league titles in his career, 4 of them in Winston-Salem.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1961	Waterloo Hawks	Midwest League	38-29	1st	Boston Red Sox	Lost League Finals	replaced Matt Sczesny (37-22) on June 29
1962	Pocatello Chiefs	Pioneer League	63-66	4th	Boston Red Sox
1963	Wellsville Red Sox	New York-Penn League		--	Boston Red Sox		replaced by Matt Sczesny July 5
	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League		7th	Boston Red Sox		replaced Matt Sczesny July 5
1964	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	82-57	1st	Boston Red Sox	League Champs
1965	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	65-79	7th	Boston Red Sox
1966	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	82-58	1st	Boston Red Sox	Lost League Finals
1967	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	69-68	6th (t)	Boston Red Sox
1968	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	56-81	9th	Boston Red Sox
1969	Greenville Red Sox	Western Carolinas League	56-68	6th	Boston Red Sox
1970	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	79-58	1st	Boston Red Sox	League Champs
1973	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	77-62	2nd	Boston Red Sox	League Champs
1974	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	76-61	3rd	Boston Red Sox	none
1975	Bristol Red Sox	Eastern League	10-4	2nd	Boston Red Sox	League Champs	replaced Dick McAuliffe (71-53) on August 22
1978	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	55-77	6th	Boston Red Sox
1979	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	85-55	1st	Boston Red Sox	none League Champs
1983	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	74-66	3rd	Boston Red Sox	Lost League Finals
1984	Winston-Salem Spirits	Carolina League	58-82	8th	Boston Red Sox
2001	Savannah Sand Gnats	South Atlantic League		--	Texas Rangers		replaced by Pedro Lopez on June 18