Gail Henley

Gail Curtice Henley

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 180 lb.
• School University of Southern California
• High School Inglewood High School
• Debut April 13, 1954
• Final Game May 6, 1954
• Born October 15, 1928 in Wichita, KS USA
• Died November 25, 2024

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Biographical Information

Gail Henley hit .300 in his only year in the big leagues, albeit in only 30 at-bats. In 1954, when Henley was on the Pittsburgh Pirates, two of the three outfielders hit under .240 and without power. However, the next year rookie Roberto Clemente captured one of those outfield positions.

Henley is one of three major leaguers to be named "Gail", along with Gail Hopkins and Gail Harris. Henley was the first to break into the majors.

George Gmelch wrote an article about being a player in the minors, along with Jim Leyland, under manager Gail Henley in the 1960s for the Daytona Beach Islanders and in the New York-Penn League, with the Jamestown Tigers. Gmelch, who went on to become a professor of anthropology at Union College, wrote that Henley remembered him and his skills in fine detail thirty years later in 2000 when Henley, Gmelch, and Leyland met. Gene Lamont also played with them. See Was I a Prospect?.

After managing in the minors for the Detroit Tigers, Henley joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a scout where he would stay until at least the mid-1980s. He signed Ryan Henderson. He went on to manage a few seasons in the Dodger chain also. He served three separate stints as manager of the Lethbridge Dodgers of the Pioneer League and won championships in three of his four seasons at the helm of the club.

Henley would later scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1961	Montgomery Rebels	Alabama-Florida League	56-62	4th	Detroit Tigers	none
1962	Thomasville Tigers	Georgia-Florida League	76-41	1st	Detroit Tigers	none League Champs
1963	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	60-61	5th	Detroit Tigers	none
1964	Duluth-Superior Dukes	Northern League	61-55	3rd	Detroit Tigers	2nd in Baukol Playoffs
1965	Jamestown Tigers	New York-Penn League	47-75	5th (t)	Detroit Tigers	none
1966	Daytona Beach Islanders	Florida State League	71-70	6th	Detroit Tigers
1972	Ogden Dodgers	Pioneer League	29-41	3rd	Los Angeles Dodgers
1973	Ogden Dodgers	Pioneer League	37-33	2nd	Los Angeles Dodgers
1977	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	44-26	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1979	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	38-30	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1980	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	52-18	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1983	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	39-31	2nd	Los Angeles Dodgers

Related Sites

• Gail Henley at the SABR Bio Project