John Vukovich

John Christopher Vukovich
(Johnny Vuk)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School American River College
• High School Amador County High School
• Debut September 11, 1970
• Final Game August 23, 1981
• Born July 31, 1947 in Sacramento, CA USA
• Died March 8, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Third baseman John Vukovich played parts of ten seasons in the majors, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies. A back-up throughout his playing days, he never appeared in more than 74 games in a season and hit .161 during his career. "Vuk" was nonetheless loved by fans and teammates for his work ethic and defensive skills.

After retiring as a player, he was a Chicago Cubs coach from 1982 to 1987 and managed the team for two games (a doubleheader) in 1986. In 1988, he joined the Phillies coaching staff and remained with the club through the 2004 season. He also was the team's interim skipper for 9 games at the end of the 1988 season, taking over after the firing of Lee Elia.

Vukovich survived a bout with brain cancer in 2001 but died in March 2007, at the age of 59, after a recurrence.

Mike Schmidt called him "the best friend I had". Larry Bowa said "..he was my best friend. He was a great guy. We played American Legion ball in Sacramento. We came up together in the minors. Anything I wanted, I just asked him."

Sources include: Sacramento Bee March 9, 2007

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 (he did not play in the World Series)

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1986	Chicago Cubs	National League	1-1	--	Chicago Cubs		interim between Jim Frey (23-34) and Gene Michael on June 13
1988	Philadelphia Phillies	National League	5-4	6th	Philadelphia Phillies		replaced Lee Elia (60-92) on September 23

Related Sites

• John Vukovich at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page
• Obituary