Alston, Walter Emmons, 1911–84, American baseball manager, b. Venice, Ohio. Nicknamed Smokey, he played one major-league game, for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936, and struck out in his one at bat. Alston managed in the minor leagues after 1940, and joined Dodgers organization in 1944. In 1954 he was named manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and in 1955 he led the team to its first World Series title. After the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958, he coached them to three more Series wins (1959, 1963, 1965); his Dodgers also won seven National League pennants. Alston retired after the 1976 season, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
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