# Doc Prothro

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**James Thompson** "**Doc**" **Prothro Sr.** (July 16, 1893 – October 14, 1971) was an American [infielder](/source/Infielder) and [manager](/source/Manager_(baseball)) in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) (MLB). Prothro was so nicknamed because he was a practicing dentist before signing his first professional baseball contract at age 26.[1] After playing five seasons in MLB, Prothro became a manager, compiling what remains the worst career [winning percentage](/source/Winning_percentage) among major league managers.

## Career

As a player, Prothro was discovered by baseball promoter Joe Engel, who managed the [Chattanooga Lookouts](/source/Chattanooga_Lookouts) at [Engel Stadium](/source/Engel_Stadium).[1] Prothro played in the major leagues as a right-handed hitting [third baseman](/source/Third_baseman) and [shortstop](/source/Shortstop) for the [Washington Senators](/source/Washington_Senators_(1901%E2%80%9360)), [Boston Red Sox](/source/Boston_Red_Sox) and [Cincinnati Reds](/source/Cincinnati_Reds) (1920; 1923–26), [batting](/source/Batting_average_(baseball)) .318 with no home runs and 81 [RBI](/source/Run_batted_in) in 180 games.[2]

In 1928, Prothro became a manager in the [Southern Association](/source/Southern_Association) (SA), then one of the higher-level minor leagues, leading the [Memphis Chicks](/source/Memphis_Chicks_(Southern_Association)) and [Little Rock Travelers](/source/Little_Rock_Travelers) to four SA pennants through 1938.

In 1939, Prothro replaced [Jimmie Wilson](/source/Jimmie_Wilson_(baseball)) as manager of the [Philadelphia Phillies](/source/Philadelphia_Phillies). In his three full seasons (1939–1941) at the helm of the Phillies, the club remained locked in the [National League](/source/National_League_(baseball)) cellar — losers of 106, 103 and 111 games. Prothro's career mark of 138–320 has the lowest managerial [winning percentage](/source/Winning_percentage), .301, in major league history.[3][a]

Prothro was fired after the 1941 season and replaced by [Hans Lobert](/source/Hans_Lobert) and thereafter returned to the Southern Association, where he piloted the Chicks from 1942 to 1947. After he retired as Memphis' manager, he remained active as a co-owner of the club.

## Personal life

A native of [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis,_Tennessee), Prothro attended the [University of Tennessee Health Science Center](/source/University_of_Tennessee_Health_Science_Center). He died in Memphis in 1971 at the age of 78. His son, [Tommy Prothro](/source/Tommy_Prothro), became a successful coach in [college football](/source/College_football) (at [Oregon State University](/source/Oregon_State_University) and [UCLA](/source/UCLA)) and, during the 1970s, led the [Los Angeles Rams](/source/Los_Angeles_Rams) and [San Diego Chargers](/source/San_Diego_Chargers) of the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League).[1]

## Notes

1. The rankings include persons who managed at least 315 major league games.

## References

1. Nowlin, Bill. ["Doc Prothro"](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/doc-prothro/). *[SABR](/source/Society_for_American_Baseball_Research)*

1. ["Doc Prothro Stats"](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/prothdo01-bat.shtml). *[Baseball-Reference.com](/source/Baseball-Reference.com)*

1. ["MLB Managers"](https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/index.shtml). *[Baseball-Reference.com](/source/Baseball-Reference.com)*. Retrieved September 7, 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Doc Prothro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Prothro) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Prothro?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.