Louis Kahn Jr. (December 4, 1915 – March 13, 2002) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

player,

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 ...

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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. Born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, Kahn was a

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 ...

during his playing days. He threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, stood 5 feet, 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). Kahn's playing career extended for 17 seasons (1936–42 and 1944–53), all in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. He initially signed with his hometown

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 spent his career in a number of Major League

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 ...

s. Although he batted .304 in 1,507 minor league games, he never rose higher than the top level of the minors. During the course of his lengthy playing career, Kahn toiled for three seasons under executive

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

, inventor of the farm system, and Kahn came to be known as a fierce critic of Rickey and the system he created. "He knocked down everyone's salaries, and he put the difference between what they got, and what they should have got, in his own pocket," Kahn once said. "I was just a number to Branch Rickey. He ran baseball factories and screwed his players every way but right side up." Kahn, however, did have a long career in the game after his catching career ended. After working as a Major League coach for the 1954–55 Cardinals and coaching for the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, he joined the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

' organization as a scout and minor league manager in 1960, serving into the 1980s. Kahn settled in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

, where he played minor league baseball in 1937, and was a pecan-buyer during the off-season. He died in Albany at the age of 86.

References

External links

Coach's page
from

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Lou 1915 births 2002 deaths Albany Travelers players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball coaches from Missouri Baseball players from St. Louis Birmingham Barons players Cedar Rapids Raiders players Charleston Senators players Columbus Cardinals players Columbus Red Birds players Eugene Emeralds managers Greenwood Dodgers players Hollywood Stars players Johnstown Johnnies players Macon Peaches players Mitchell Kernels players Mobile Bears players Norfolk Tides managers Palestine Pals players Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia Philadelphia Phillies scouts Rochester Red Wings managers Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals coaches Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players

See also

References

External links