John Robert Keennan (May 10, 1940 – March 5, 2015) was an American

baseball scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout ...

who worked from 1962 through 1998 for 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization. Born in

Great Bend, Kansas Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

, Keenan was a longtime Dodgers scout. He was originally hired as a part-time scout in 1962 by scouting director

Al Campanis Alexander Sebastian Campanis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Σεβαστιανός Καμπάνης; November 2, 1916 – June 21, 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He had a brief major league playing career, as a ...

, became a full-time scout the next year, then by 1986 was the Dodgers midwest scouting supervisor and national crosschecker, before retiring in 1998. Keenan was instrumental in the signing of future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland ...

and

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. ...

Davey Lopes David Earle Lopes (; born May 3, 1945) is an American former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston ...

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

and

Mickey Hatcher Michael Vaughn Hatcher (born March 15, 1955) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder, third baseman and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Los ...

, all of them members of World Series champion Dodgers teams. In addition, Keenan signed pitcher

Rick Sutcliffe Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "The Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and ...

, a National League Rookie of the Year winner and later a National League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

winner with the

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 ...

, as well as

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 ...

Mitch Webster Mitchell Dean Webster (born May 16, 1959) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1983 through 1995 for the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. Lis ...

, among many others. Webster, who as a scout in 2008, represented the Dodgers when Keenan was inducted into the Greater Midwest Professional Baseball Scouts Association Hall of Fame. Previously, Keenan gained induction in the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.Los Angeles Dodgers Website
/ref> Besides, Keenan was a member of Prince of Peace Parish at St. Patrick Catholic Church, where he was an usher for many years, Knights of Columbus Council #862 life member, B. P. O. Elks Lodge #1127, Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame, Greater Midwest Scout Association, Professional Baseball Scouts Association, and Past President of the Cougar Booster Club. Keenan died in 2015 in

Riley, Kansas Riley is a city in Riley County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 938. History Riley was originally called Union, and under the latter name was founded in 1871. It was renamed Riley Center in the la ...

, at the age of 74.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, John Robert 1940 births 2015 deaths Los Angeles Dodgers executives Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball scouts People from Great Bend, Kansas