a subtle, but longstanding friction existed between wheat and his manager, wilbert robinson. the friction reportedly stemmed from robinson's belief that wheat pursued the manager's job behind his back. when owner charles ebbets died in , new team president ed mckeever reassigned robinson into the front office and named wheat as player-manager. newspapers confirm that he managed the dodgers for two weeks. mckeever caught pneumonia at ebbets' funeral, and died soon afterward, and robinson quickly returned to the manager's position. as it turned out, wheat never again managed in the majors, much to his disappointment. moreover, wheat's 1925 managerial stint never made it into the official records. in , steve mckeever, ed's brother, hired wheat as a coach, leading to widespread speculation that he was being groomed for the manager's spot, threatening robinson's job for a second time in seven years, and he treated his former star as coldly as ever.