Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators,

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

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

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 ha ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He also played for the National Basketball League's

Chicago American Gears The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League (NBL) team who played from 1944 to 1947. The team also played in the Professional Basketball League of America (PBLA) in 1947–48 after leaving the NBL. About They are notable in prof ...

in 1946–47. Later in his baseball career, Noren was a

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 ...

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 ...

and the third-base coach of the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

– 73

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

champion

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. As a player and coach between 1950 and 1975, Noren was a member of five world championship teams. The last surviving member of the

1952 World Series The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Ca ...

champion Yankees, he died at his home in

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

, on November 15, 2019, exactly two weeks before his 95th birthday. Noren was born in

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

, but grew up from the age of 12 in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, where he graduated from high school. Noren then attended

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

and played

as well as baseball. His collegiate career was interrupted by service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 ...

Playing career

The , Noren threw and batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. His pro baseball career began in 1946 when he was signed by the Dodgers while they were still in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, but 14 years and the transfer of the team to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

would pass before he'd wear a Dodger uniform. During his four seasons in Brooklyn's

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 ...

, he was named Most Valuable Player of the 1948 Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Then, in 1949, playing for an earlier "hometown" franchise, the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

, Noren won the Triple-A

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

's MVP Award, hitting .330 with 224 hits, 29

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 130

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. But the Dodgers had no room for Noren in their outfield in Brooklyn and sold his contract to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Washington Senators at the close of the 1949 campaign. Noren responded with a standout 1950

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season. He batted .295, established career highs in hits (160), home runs (14) and RBI (98), and finished 15th in the league's MVP race. His sophomore season, , saw only a slight falloff to a .279 batting average and 86 RBI. But 12 games into his third campaign with the Senators, , Noren was sent on May 3 to the Yankees in a six-player trade that brought

Jackie Jensen Jack Eugene Jensen (March 9, 1927 – July 14, 1982) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Pl ...

to Washington. For the next 4 seasons, Noren would be a valuable platoon outfielder for

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...

's Yankees, appearing in three World Series (1952; 1953; 1955), all against his original organization, Brooklyn. He started four games as the Yankees'

centerfielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...

in the 1955 World Series, filling in, along with

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

-swinging

Bob Cerv Robert Henry Cerv ( ; May 5, 1925 – April 6, 2017) was an American professional baseball left fielder. Prior to his professional career, he was a collegiate baseball and basketball player at the University of Nebraska. He was born in Weston, Ne ...

, for an injured

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

. But Noren went only 1-for-16 as Brooklyn captured its first world championship. He would hit only .148 (4-for-27) in the three Series in which he appeared. (He was a member of the victorious Yankees, but did not get into that year's Fall Classic.) His best regular season as a Yankee came in , when he batted a career-high .319 in 125

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. New York won 103 games that season, but finished second to the

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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. All told, Noren hit .272 with 31 homers during his 488-game tenure in the Bronx. Noren was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in February 1957. He batted over .300 for both the 1957 Cardinals and the 1959 Cubs, before closing his career back in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

with the transplanted Dodgers in 1960. Altogether, Noren played in 1,093 games over 11 MLB seasons. He collected 857 hits, including 157 doubles, 35 triples and 65 home runs, with 453 RBI. He batted .275 lifetime. Defensively, he recorded a .982

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing at all three outfield positions and first base. In addition to his baseball career, Noren played briefly with the

of the National Basketball League in the 1946–47 season. He played in three games for the team that season.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Noren managed the Triple-A

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

in 1962–63, where he would fine players $50 if they showed up too sunburned to play baseball. The Islanders went 158–153 during those two seasons, but did not qualify for the Pacific Coast League playoffs. He scouted for the expansion Senators in 1964, spent 1965–69 out of professional baseball, then managed in the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

' farm system in 1970. From 1971 through 1973, Noren served on the coaching staff of Oakland A's manager

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

, a fellow Pasadena High School alumnus and former minor league teammate. He was a member of the 1971

American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

champions, and then worked with two consecutive AL pennant-winners and World Series champions in 1972–73. When Williams resigned after the 1973 title, Noren remained on the Oakland staff of new manager

Alvin Dark Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played fourteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Bra ...

. But he and Dark clashed and on July 8, 1974, Noren was replaced as third-base coach by

Bobby Winkles Bobby Brooks Winkles (March 11, 1930 – April 17, 2020) was an American baseball player and coach. After an eight-year career as an infielder in the minor leagues, he became the acclaimed college baseball coach at Arizona State University (ASU) ...

—denying Noren a third consecutive World Series title when the Athletics went on to defeat the Dodgers in that year's Fall Classic. Noren then spent one more season in the big leagues as a coach with the 1975 Cubs.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noren, Irv 1924 births 2019 deaths American people of Swedish descent Baseball coaches from California Baseball coaches from New York (state) Baseball players from Pasadena, California Baseball players from New York (state) Chicago American Gears players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Fort Worth Cats players Hawaii Islanders managers Hawaii Islanders players Hollywood Stars players Kansas City Athletics players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Military personnel from New York (state) Minor league baseball managers New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics coaches Pacific Coast League MVP award winners Pasadena City Lancers baseball players Pasadena City Lancers men's basketball players Pasadena High School (California) alumni St. Louis Cardinals players Santa Barbara Dodgers players Sportspeople from Jamestown, New York Sportspeople from Pasadena, California Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) scouts United States Army personnel of World War II