He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, New York Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1943 and 1953.

"[3] Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto still complained years later about a notorious play during Game 3 of the 1951 World Series in which Stanky kicked the ball loose from Rizzuto's glove as he slid into second base, instrumental in the Giant win that put them ahead two games to one, although they lost the next three and the Series with it.

He was also (in)famous for what came to be called "the Stanky maneuver", distracting opposing hitters by jumping up and down and waving his arms behind the pitcher from his second base position.

Stanky was also a master of the "delayed steal" in which the runner feigns disinterest after the pitch, but instead of walking back to first breaks for second as soon as the infielders return to their normal positions.

As Cardinal player-manager, he would hold up games close to being called on account of darkness or curfew when that would benefit his team, by walking leisurely to the mound from second base or the dugout (when not playing) after every pitch to confer with his pitcher, eventually resulting in the one-trip-per-inning rule.

When Robinson began playing that season, he was treated harshly and discriminated against, and frequently taunted with insults and threats by players from the opposing teams.

[citation needed] Before the 1948 season began, Stanky was traded to the Boston Braves so that Robinson could return to his natural position and also bat leadoff.

But Stanky's time as Cardinal manager coincided with the slow decline of the team and its farm system from its glory days in the 1940s and the ownership transition from Fred Saigh to August "Gussie" Busch.

He then spent almost six seasons in the Cardinal front office in charge of player development (1959–64), moving on to the New York Mets in a similar capacity in 1965.

The White Sox had been runners-up in the American League (AL) for three successive seasons (1963–65), averaging almost 96 victories per year, but Stanky's maiden squad won only 83 games and fell to fourth place.

However, his 1967 White Sox team — built on speed and pitching but hampered by an impotent offense — contended for the pennant until the last week of the season in a thrilling four-team race.

One of his players, Tommy John, recalled that "When Eddie Stanky took over as manager of the White Sox in 1966, people would tell me what an absolute tyrant he was, an S.O.B., a slave driver.

He returned to MLB on June 22, 1977, as manager of the Texas Rangers, replacing Frank Lucchesi who was dismissed earlier that day despite the team being four games out of first place in the AL West.

[15] As players, both dreamed of managing major league teams one day, and Dark spoke highly of Stanky's baseball intelligence.