Lee Elia, director of Cubs and Phillies, died at 87

Lee Elia, who directed the Cubs of Chicago and the Philadelphia Phillies in a professional baseball career which lasted over 50 years as a coach and player, died Wednesday at the age of 87, Phillies announced Thursday.

Elia, an inner field player who signed with the Phillies in 1958, played for the Chicago White Sox and the Cubs during his brief player career, reaching .203 with 3 circuits and 25 points produced in 95 games during the 1966 and 1968 seasons.

It was as a manager and coach where Elia made her brand. He won his first management job in 1982 with Cubs at the age of 44. During her two seasons with the Cubs, Elia went 127-158, but he was best known for her diatriber filled with explanation directed against cubs fans only 19 games in the 1983 season.

He managed the Phillies in the 1987 and 1988 seasons, going 111-42.

During his long coach career, he was a coach of the third base in Philadelphia during the Phillie Championship season in 1980.

“Affiliated to 10 different organizations throughout his distinguished career, he has always considered himself phillie at heart,” posted the team on X.