St. Joseph ? Al Gallagher, who spent the last four seasons managing the Kansas City T-Bones independent baseball team in the Northern League, is the new skipper of the St. Joe Blacksnakes. The Blacksnakes, an independent team in the American Association, had been looking for a new manager since Chris Carminucci left to become manager of the Atlantic City Surf of the Can-Am League.

Gallagher, 62, played third base for four years in the major leagues with the San Francisco Giants and the California Angels. Known as “Dirty Al” because his uniform was rarely clean, Gallagher has won over 1,000 game during his 19-year managerial career.

The T-Bones fired Gallagher following the 2006 season. He was replaced by Andy McCauley, who had been skipper of the Schaumburg Flyers, another member of the Northern League.