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before he switched to the player development department in 1967. Lucas was named the director of the Braves' farm system in 1972 and promoted to GM responsibilities on
September 17, 1976. At the time, the Braves were in last place in the
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and as president of the
William D. Lucas Fund, which helps send young baseball players to college. Lucas' sister, Barbara, was the former wife of Hall of Fame inductee
336:, Lucas watched on television from his Atlanta home as Niekro won his 200th major league game, 5–2. Hours after congratulating Niekro by phone, Lucas was stricken with
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348:. Said Murphy at Lucas' funeral, "Bill's dream was for this organization to become a success. It is our sacred honor to be chosen to fulfill his dream."
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ruled that Turner, as an owner, could not appoint himself manager. Starting in 1978, Lucas found himself caught between Turner and players like
864:
344:. He died three days later without regaining consciousness at age 43. At his passing, he was still the highest-ranking black executive in
302:
The job of rebuilding the Braves was compounded by Turner's tempestuous behavior. On May 11, 1977, the owner appointed himself the Braves'
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from mid-September 1976 until his death in early May 1979. A member of the Braves' organization for 23 years, he was inducted into the
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during a losing streak. Turner's dugout reign drew national headlines but lasted only one day before the president of the
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Lucas joined the Braves' front office in 1965, working in sales and promotions during the team's relocation to
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gave Lucas, whose official title was vice president of player personnel, all the duties of a
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On the evening of May 1, 1979, with the Braves on the road facing the
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Lucas' widow, Rubye, later served on the board of directors of the
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coming up through Lucas' minor league system, and the selection of
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in 1964. Overall, Lucas played professionally for six seasons,
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with the
Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and played in the
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382:"Bill Lucas Minor Leagues Statistics & History"
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78:
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151:(January 25, 1936 – May 5, 1979) was an American
284:, while Turner kept the official title himself.
208:. He then served two years as an officer in the
549:Career statistics and player information from
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179:Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum and Hall of Fame
8:
325:, during contentious contract negotiations.
820:Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida
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800:20th-century African-American sportspeople
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359:; the two were married from 1953 to 1971.
92:Professional baseball player and executive
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835:Florida A&M Rattlers baseball players
491:. May 6, 1979 – via newspapers.com.
528:"Braves to induct two into Hall of Fame"
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855:Major League Baseball general managers
475:"Fans Praise Lucas As Atlanta Mourns"
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7:
850:Major League Baseball farm directors
795:20th-century American businesspeople
413:"The Forgotten Legacy of Bill Lucas"
14:
840:Florida A&M University alumni
805:African-American baseball players
845:Major League Baseball executives
655:Boston Bees / Braves (1936–1952)
411:Putterman, Alex (June 4, 2017).
212:. Lucas returned to the Braves'
642:Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
526:Bowman, Mark (April 24, 2006).
1:
697:Atlanta Braves (1966–present)
257:National League West Division
676:Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965)
444:Walburn, Lee (May 1, 2011).
865:United States Army officers
551:Baseball Reference (Minors)
276:the division leader. Owner
16:American baseball executive
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353:Turner Broadcasting System
228:in 1963, and finished his
195:Florida A&M University
83:Florida A&M University
810:Atlanta Braves executives
598:
580:
572:
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109:1976–1979 general manager
28:
860:Salinas Packers players
815:Austin Senators players
503:"Hank Aaron Fast Facts"
295:as the top pick in the
485:Newport News, Virginia
387:Baseball-Reference.com
149:William DeVaughn Lucas
106:1965–1976 front office
103:1957, 1960–1964 player
870:Yakima Braves players
346:professional baseball
216:in 1960, reached the
191:Jacksonville, Florida
167:Major League Baseball
158:who became the first
153:professional baseball
52:Jacksonville, Florida
830:Denver Bears players
825:Boise Braves players
334:Three Rivers Stadium
226:Pacific Coast League
568:Sporting positions
511:. January 20, 2017.
342:cerebral hemorrhage
314:Horner and veteran
247:.273 in 655 games.
140:Braves Hall of Fame
330:Pittsburgh Pirates
287:With players like
210:United States Army
197:, he signed as an
189:Lucas was born in
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599:Succeeded by
206:California League
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97:Years active
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647:general managers
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573:Preceded by
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232:career with the
193:. A graduate of
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122:African-American
71:Atlanta, Georgia
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48:January 25, 1936
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520:Further reading
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308:National League
282:general manager
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234:Austin Senators
220:level with the
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163:general manager
125:general manager
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79:Alma mater
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542:External links
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340:and a massive
338:cardiac arrest
297:1978 MLB draft
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175:Atlanta Braves
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117:Known for
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323:Hall of Famer
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304:field manager
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89:Occupation(s)
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560:Find a Grave
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455:. Retrieved
449:
446:"Bill Lucas"
422:. Retrieved
418:The Atlantic
416:
391:. Retrieved
385:
350:
327:
301:
286:
274:games behind
249:
241:Texas League
230:minor league
222:Denver Bears
188:
148:
147:
65:(1979-05-05)
790:1979 deaths
785:1936 births
764:Anthopoulos
602:John Mullen
480:Daily Press
321:, a future
319:Phil Niekro
289:Dale Murphy
214:farm system
173:) with the
63:May 5, 1979
779:Categories
754:Coppolella
739:Schuerholz
556:Bill Lucas
457:2016-01-18
363:References
357:Hank Aaron
293:Bob Horner
278:Ted Turner
44:1936-01-25
23:Bill Lucas
199:infielder
185:Biography
181:in 2006.
156:infielder
719:Alevizos
714:Robinson
709:Richards
683:J. Quinn
667:J. Quinn
662:B. Quinn
238:Double-A
218:Triple-A
593:–
533:MLB.com
451:Atlanta
424:June 3,
393:June 3,
316:pitcher
268:⁄
252:Atlanta
245:batting
236:of the
224:of the
203:Class C
131:history
729:Mullen
704:McHale
688:McHale
312:rookie
142:(2006)
136:Awards
120:First
73:, U.S.
54:, U.S.
724:Lucas
759:Hart
749:Hart
744:Wren
595:1979
591:1976
426:2021
395:2021
60:Died
38:Born
734:Cox
558:at
508:CNN
332:at
171:MLB
165:in
129:MLB
127:in
781::
530:.
505:.
489:AP
487:.
483:.
477:.
466:^
448:.
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371:^
261:30
259:,
633:e
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397:.
270:2
266:1
263:+
169:(
46:)
42:(
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