Joseph Elliot Girardi is the current manager of the New York Yankees. During his playing career, he was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was also manager of the Florida Marlins in 2006, where he was awarded National League Manager of the Year.

A native of East Peoria, Illinois, he attended Spalding Institute in Peoria, Illinois, where he played quarterback for head football Coach Tommy Kahn and was the catcher for Coach David Lang's baseball teams. He went on to play baseball at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering, and he was initiated into the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.