He was playing center field in that first game when the catcher had trouble doing the job. After an inning, the coach asked Johnny if he could catch. He said, "No."

From the stands, his father, Clint Oates, said, "Oh, yes he can."

Johnny moved behind the plate. He never played another position again. He went on to play at Virginia Tech and was drafted twice, by the Chicago White Sox in 1966 (he didn't sign) and then by Baltimore a year later. The Orioles played a central part in his career.

In the Baltimore farm system, Mr. Oates played for Cal Ripken Sr., whom he later credited with instilling much of the foundation for his understanding of the game.

He reached the major leagues in 1970, playing five games. Mr. Oates spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors, mostly as a backup with Baltimore, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and the New York Yankees. He twice appeared in the World Series with Los Angeles but was on the losing side against the Yankees both times. The Yankees foiled his greatest successes as a manager, as well.

"He was the perfect catcher for me," said Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, who went 10-0 for the Orioles with Mr. Oates catching him in 1972. "He was smart, always full of questions. He knew what he could do and what he couldn't. He worked so hard all the time. You have a lot of respect for somebody like that."

On the way to hitting .250 in 593 major league games, Mr. Oates also went to the playoffs four times. He was with Atlanta when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record. And he broke his collarbone in a home-plate collision with Pittsburgh's Dave Parker on opening day in 1976 with Philadelphia. He was out long enough for Bob Boone to wrest the starting catcher's job from him.

After retiring as a player after the 1981 season, Mr. Oates began his managerial career with Nashville, the Yankees' Double-A affiliate. He managed one year at Triple-A, then joined the Chicago Cubs as a major league coach. He was with Chicago in 1984 when the Cubs reached the postseason for the first time since 1945.

He nearly dropped out of baseball after being let go by Chicago after the 1987 season. Doug Melvin, a former Rangers general manager who then was the Orioles' farm director, persuaded him to take a job as the organization's Triple-A manager. A year later he was back in the majors as a coach. And in 1991, he replaced Frank Robinson as the Orioles' manager.

Mr. Oates managed the Orioles to winning seasons in 1992-94, but the combination of a meddling owner (Peter Angelos) and Mr. Oates' distant relationship with the media led to his firing after the 1994 season was cut short by a players' strike.

He did not remain unemployed for long. Just nine days after Mr. Melvin was named the Rangers' general manager, he named Mr. Oates to replace Kevin Kennedy.

Mr. Oates almost quit before managing a game. At the end of a longer-than-usual spring training, due to the late settlement of a players' strike, Gloria Oates fell into a deep depression. Mr. Oates left the team to be with his wife and started to plan for his post-baseball life. After counseling and prayer, Ms. Oates told her husband to return to the team.

Thus marked the beginning of the most glorious chapter in Rangers history. Mr. Oates led the Rangers to a 74-70 finish in 1995. The best was yet to come.

In 1996, the Rangers began the season with seven wins, the best start in franchise history. The strong start helped the Rangers jump ahead of the rest of the American League West. The Rangers spent three days in second place in May, the only time they occupied a position other than first during the season.

It was not without its hairy moments, though. The Rangers led by nine games Sept. 10 but lost nine of their next 10 and saw their lead over Seattle slip to one game. Mr. Oates remained the picture of steadiness.

"I wanted to scream," he said at the time. "I wanted to yell. But I would have lost everyone in the clubhouse if I did that. I told guys they would be OK."

The Rangers hung on to win the division, ending 24 years of frustration for the franchise. They went on to the playoffs, beating the Yankees in the first game of a best-of-five series but losing the next three. Mr. Oates was named AL co-manager of the year.

Twice more, Mr. Oates guided the Rangers to division titles. The team came from 3 ½ games back with 20 to play to top Anaheim in 1998. In 1999, the Rangers set a franchise record with 95 wins. On both occasions, the team faced the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. On both occasions, superior Yankees pitching shut down the Rangers' offense. On both occasions, the Yankees swept the series.

"Johnny handled adversity as well as anybody I've ever seen," said Tom Schieffer, former Rangers president and managing partner. "During losing streaks he was at his steadiest. He never ducked out. He had everybody's respect."

While Johnny Oates often poked fun at his own playing career, he usually added that he was able to experience a very full baseball life. A look at some of the moments and accomplishments Mr. Oates experienced in nearly 35 years around professional baseball:

• Though Mr. Oates had only three career postseason at-bats, his team reached the playoffs in five of his final six seasons.

• In nine full seasons as a major league manager, only twice did his teams have losing records.

• He and Frank Robinson are the only people to play for, coach and manage the Baltimore Orioles. Mr. Oates was the team's manager when Camden Yards opened, and he welcomed England's Queen Elizabeth to the new stadium. He also met presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton at the park.

• He managed Cal Ripken Jr. for 561 of his record-breaking 2,632 consecutive games. He managed more games of Mr. Ripken's streak than any other manager. Mr. Robinson had 515, and Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver had 429.

• He was a coach for the 1984 Chicago Cubs, the first Cubs team to reach the postseason since 1945.

• He was in the Atlanta bullpen, as a reserve, the night Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record with No. 715.

• In 1996 he became the first Rangers' manager honored as the Baseball Writers Association of America Manager of the Year.