October 1, 1947

The world will never know how close this 1947 team photo came to never happening

It was thought to be a mere formality, but Connie Mack threw Philadelphia Athletics supporters a real curve yesterday by declaring that his return for his 48th consecutive season as manager was not a sure thing:

“It comes down to family,” Mack said. “They are first, and whatever is best for the group of us — not one individual, not just me or my wife. I’m talking kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and the best damn neighbors you’ve ever met — whatever is best for us as a group, that’s what we’ll decide to do.

“And that’s something I’ve put some thought into and I’m going to have to think about a lot of the next few days. But that’s a decision that we’ll sit down and make and decide what’s best.”

H/T to the unselfconsciously insufferable Joe Girardi.