George Marshall Kissell (9 September 1920 – 7 October 2008) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 Nor ...

player,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

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 * Co ...

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, sectio ...

, and instructor, as well as a Major League coach, for 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

organization. Born in

Evans Mills, New York Evans Mills is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 621 at the 2010 census. The village is within the town of Le Ray and is northeast of Watertown. Evans Mills is the home of Evans Mills Speedway which was bu ...

, he graduated from Evans Mills High School and attended

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

, where he earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in history and physical education. As a player, he stood 5'8" (173 cm) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). He threw and batted right-handed. Kissel was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Career

Kissell was signed as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in 1940 by

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 ...

, and spent 69 years with the Cardinals organization. He was primarily a

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 scoring system us ...

, although he also played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, and never rose above the Class B level as a player. By 1946, after three seasons in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he had become a playing manager for the Lawrence Millionaires of the Class B

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. His most successful season as a manager came in 1950 with the Class B

Winston-Salem Cardinals Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, who won 106 of 153 regular-season games and the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

playoff championship. Kissell managed in the Cardinal

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, 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 players can move on to a higher ...

through 1957, scouted for them in 1958–62, then returned to the field as a minor league manager in 1963–67. In 1968, he spent his first season as a roving instructor in the Cardinal system, where his efforts led to the nickname of "the Professor," and his influence is generally regarded as being a major basis for what came to be known as the "Cardinal Way". He mentored a number of major league managers, including

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

, and

Tony LaRussa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

. Jack Kissell, a baseball manager and farm system official, spent seven seasons as a third-base coach for the Major League Cardinals under Red Schoendienst from 1969 to 1975. Later on, during his final years with the St. Louis team, he worked as a field coordinator of system-wide instruction, followed by senior field coordinator.

Honored for dedication to baseball

Kissell received numerous honors for his work in baseball, including induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. In recognition for his years of service to the game, Kissell received the

King of Baseball King of Baseball was a ceremonial title awarded annually from 1951 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize an individual for their longtime dedication and service to professional baseball. It was awarded during baseball's Winter Meetings a ...

award in 1993 from minor league baseball. In addition, the Cardinals' spring training clubhouse in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

was named after him during spring training in 2005. The Cardinals organization annually honors a minor league coach with the George Kissell Award. In 2015 Kissel was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Said former Cardinal manager

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 wit ...

in 2005, “He is one of those baseball lifers that loves to talk baseball ... George Kissell is the only man I know who can talk for 15 minutes about a ground ball.” At the age of 88, Kissell died after sustaining injuries in a car accident in

Pinellas Park, Florida Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kissell, George 1920 births 2008 deaths Baseball coaches from New York (state) Baseball players from New York (state) Decatur Commodores players Hamilton Cardinals players Hamilton Red Wings (baseball) players Ithaca College alumni Lawrence Millionaires players Lowell Orphans players Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Mobile Shippers players Omaha Cardinals players People from Jefferson County, New York Road incident deaths in Florida St. Louis Cardinals coaches St. Louis Cardinals scouts Winston-Salem Cardinals players

Career

Honored for dedication to baseball

See also

References