up the hillside and signal for help. The Spokane club was decimated and could only continue the season with players loaned from other teams and organizations. "I guess I'm pretty lucky", Geraghty told the Associated Press the day after the crash. "I was thrown right out a window. I took the window frame right with me. I remember flying out the window, but I must have been knocked out because I don't remember landing." Geraghty's head wound required 28 stitches to close, and he was on crutches as the result of a broken kneecap. Despite his head injury, Geraghty was named the immediate replacement for Mel Cole—the team's catcher and player-manager who perished in the crash—as the Indians' first post-accident skipper. But his injuries were too serious, and former big-leaguer Glenn Wright assumed the reins for the rest of 1946. Geraghty was able to return to Spokane to play for and manage the Indians in 1947. He appeared in 31 games for the Indians, batting .348. Meanwhile, he led them to a second-place finish and 87 victories. His health, however, would never be the same. He would manage in the minors for the next 16 seasons, but he was troubled by heart disease, cardiovascular disease and ulcers, and developed a reputation as a heavy drinker. 1947-48 Geraghty was released after the 1947 season. He had come into conflict with team owner Sam Collins when he criticized the release of an outfielder, but his popularity with the fans had helped him last the rest of the season before getting released. Hired by the Cleveland Indians in 1948, he started the year playing for and managing the Meridian Peps of the Class B Southeastern League. In 15 games, he batted .128 before getting released on May 30. Those games were the last time in his career he would be an active player. Later in the year, he managed the Palatka Azaleas of the Class D Florida State League as they finished the season in eighth place. New York Giants affiliates (1949-52) Over the next four years, Geraghty managed New York Giants minor league teams. He guided the Class D Bristol Twins of the Appalachian League to a third-place finish (76–41) in 1949 and a second-place finish (74–47) in 1950. In 1951, he moved up to Class A, managing the Jacksonville Tars of the South Atlantic League (SAL). George Booker of The Sporting