On May 11, 1977, Braves owner Ted Turner elected to manage his team for one day, with Atlanta losing 2-1. It would be his only day behind the bench, as National League President Chub Feeney ruled that the owner could not continue as skipper.’
Turner’s brief and bizarre stint in the dugout came during a miserable 16-game losing streak, with the outspoken owner believing he could spark life into a struggling franchise simply by inserting himself into the action. Wearing a Braves uniform and patrolling the dugout at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium, Turner became the first owner to manage a major league team since Connie Mack decades earlier. The Braves ultimately dropped their 17th consecutive game that night, and baseball officials moved quickly to stop the experiment, citing league rules prohibiting owners from managing clubs in which they held financial interests.
Still, the spectacle perfectly captured Turner’s larger-than-life personality. He was bold, impulsive, theatrical, and endlessly confident — traits that later helped transform the Braves into a national brand through his WTBS “Superstation,” earning Atlanta the nickname “America’s Team.” Turner would go on to become one of the most influential figures in modern media as the founder of CNN and a revolutionary voice in sports broadcasting.
Turner recently passed away at the age of 87, closing the chapter on one of the most colorful and unconventional careers in sports and media history. Though his managerial record officially ended at 0-1, the unforgettable image of “Captain Outrageous” running the Braves for a single night remains one of baseball’s most legendary moments.
