Former Sooner Hired To Manage Pirates

Monday, November 5th 2007, 3:26 pm

By: News On 6

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A former Oklahoma Sooner has been hired to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates announced Monday that John Russell will take over for Jim Tracy who was fired.

Russell is a graduate of Norman High and played at OU in the late 1970s. He had been the third base coach for the Pirates under manager Lloyd McClendon but was let go when McClendon was fired in 2005.

Russell is a former major league catcher who caught one of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters. He spent eight years as a Minnesota Twins minor league manager and the past two seasons he managed the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A team.

The Pirates have had 15 consecutive losing seasons and Russell is the fifth manager since the last winning season in 1992.