Robert Daniel Kennedy (August 18, 1920 – April 7, 2005) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and executive in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. From 1939 to 1957, Kennedy played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1939–42, 1946–48, 1955–56, 1957),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1948–54),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1954–55),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(1956) and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1957). He batted and threw right-handed. After his playing career, Kennedy managed the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1963–65) and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(1968). His son, former major league

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Terry Kennedy, was a four-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

and

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

manager.

Strong-armed third baseman and rightfielder

Kennedy was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. A line-drive hitter, he had a strong and accurate throwing arm. On June 22, 1937, the night before the White Sox signed him, Kennedy was working as a 16-year-old popcorn vendor at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-south side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Built by Wh ...

during the World Heavyweight Boxing Title between

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

and

James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing ...

. Kennedy debuted a year later, and became the starting third baseman in 1940. In 1940, he became the first teenaged major leaguer since 1900 to play 150 games in a season. After a break of three years to serve in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

during World War II, he returned, to play mostly in right field. In the 1948 midseason Kennedy was sent to Cleveland in the same trade that brought Pat Seerey to Chicago. Kennedy hit .301 the rest of the year and became a member of the last

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Indians team. His most productive season came in 1950, when he posted career-highs in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.291), runs (79),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(157) and doubles (27). The same season, he started two

triple play In baseball or softball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three out (baseball), outs during the same play. There have only been 739 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of ju ...

s from the right field, matching Indians

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Charlie Jamieson Charles Devine "Cuckoo" Jamieson (February 7, 1893 – October 27, 1969) was an American baseball player, an outfielder for the Washington Senators (1915–17), Philadelphia Athletics (1917–18) and Cleveland Indians (1919–32). Professional ...

's two triple plays of 1928. Kennedy was traded to the newly relocated Baltimore Orioles in 1954. On July 30, he belted the first

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

for Baltimore against

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

pitcher

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Reynolds pitched in MLB for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954 ...

. In 1955, Kennedy was purchased by the White Sox and sent to Detroit in 1956. Released in April 1957, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the White Sox, for his third stint with the club. A month later, he was selected off waivers by the Brooklyn Dodgers, being released at the end of the season. Kennedy is the answer to the trivia question who was the last man to ever bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers. At 3:36pm, Kennedy flew out to centerfield on a 2–2 pitch with two out and no one on in the 9th inning of the last Brooklyn Dodger game ever played on Sunday, September 29, 1957 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Phillies defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 3–2. Seth Morehead, a rookie lefthander was the pitcher for the Phillies. This game marked his major league debut as a starter and was the only time all season Brooklyn lost to a lefthander. They had been 6–0 against lefties throughout 1957.

Career as manager, coach and executive

Following his retirement, he was a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

director for the Indians, and manager of the Triple-A

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

. During the 1962 season, Kennedy was named to the Cubs'

College of Coaches The College of Coaches was an unorthodox baseball organizational practice employed by the National League's Chicago Cubs in and . After the Cubs finished 60–94 in , their 14th straight NL second-division finish, Cubs owner P. K. Wrigley annou ...

. The Cubs had experimented with having a committee of coaches run the team on the field since

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

, as opposed to having a single manager. However, after the 1962 season ended with what is still the worst record in franchise history, owner

Phil Wrigley Philip Knight Wrigley (December 5, 1894 – April 12, 1977) was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the son of William Wrigley Jr. Biography Wrigley was born in Chicago in ...

named Kennedy as "head coach" for an indefinite period. After Kennedy led the 1963 Cubs to their first winning record in 17 years, he began to assert a more traditional managerial authority over the team. He served as head coach from 1963 until June 13, 1965, posting a 162–198 record. He served as special assistant to Cub

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

John Holland, manager of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

' Double-A

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

affiliate, and a coach with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

until 1968. In

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, when the Athletics moved from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, Kennedy was their first manager. Oakland finished sixth in a 10-team league with an 82–80 record, a notable improvement from the 62–99 last-place 1967 Athletics. It was also the franchise's first winning season since 1952, when the team was still in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. According to the 1972 book ''Mustache Gang'', authored by Ron Bergman, on the last day of the season Kennedy walked into

Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed "Charlie O" or "Charley O", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas ...

's office, expecting an extension. Five minutes later, Kennedy had been fired. After that, he spent six years (1970–75) as director of player development and director of player personnel of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, and 1976 as a member of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

' start-up baseball operations team preparing for the club's 1977 debut in Major League Baseball. Kennedy returned to the Cubs to succeed

Salty Saltwell Eldred"Saltwell Joins Cubs as GM"
'' San Mateo Times'', November 5, 19 ...

on November 24, 1976. His first act was to name

Herman Franks Herman Louis Franks (January 4, 1914 – March 30, 2009) was an American catcher, coach, manager, general manager and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in Price, Utah, to Italian-American immigrant parents and attended the University ...

as his first and only choice to replace Jim Marshall as manager. He resigned from the position and was succeeded by Franks on an interim basis on May 22, 1981.Minkoff, Randy. "New Chicago Cubs general manager Herman Franks has suggested...," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Saturday, May 23, 1981.
Retrieved June 9, 2020 Rounding out his baseball career, Kennedy then served as a senior baseball operations executive for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(1982–85) and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

(1986–92), assisting his former Cleveland teammate

Al Rosen Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 194 ...

, then the president or general manager of those teams. In a 16-season playing career, Kennedy was a .254 hitter with 63

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 514 RBI in 1,483

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. As a manager, he posted a 264–278 record in two-plus seasons. Kennedy died in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

, aged 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Bob 1920 births 2005 deaths Atlanta Braves coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Chicago Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs executives Chicago Cubs managers Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians executives Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Indians scouts Dallas Steers players De La Salle Institute alumni Detroit Tigers players Houston Astros executives Indianapolis Indians players Longview Cannibals players Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics managers St. Louis Cardinals executives St. Louis Cardinals scouts San Francisco Giants executives Shreveport Sports players Vicksburg Hill Billies players American military personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen