By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – USF alumnus and three-time World Series champion manager Tony La Russa was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday.

La Russa, a 1969 USF graduate, ranks third all-time among managers with 2,728 wins in 33 major league seasons and captured World Series titles with Oakland in 1989 and St. Louis in 2006 and 2011.

La Russa, a former infielder, started his managing career in 1979 with the White Sox and took Chicago to the AL Championship Series in 1983. The Tampa native went on to lead the Athletics to three American League pennants (1988-90) in 10 seasons and he won three NL pennants with the Cardinals (2004, '06, '11) in 16 seasons before retiring after St. Louis won the World Series in 2011.

La Russa joins the 2014 Hall of Fame class that includes managers Joe Torre and Bobby Cox. Hall of Fame weekend will be held July 25-28 in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the induction ceremony is set for July 27, 2014. The rest of the Hall of Fame class will be revealed Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. once the BBWAA election results have come in.

Check out transcripts from Monday's press conference HERE.