John Henry Neun (October 28, 1900 – March 28, 1990) was an American professional

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 ...

player and

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 ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

from 1925 to 1931 for the

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

. Neun is notable for completing the seventh

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under ...

in MLB history. After his playing career he served as the manager for the

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 ...

and the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Career

Neun was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Although never an everyday player (he never played more than 97 games a season), Neun entered baseball immortality on May 31, 1927 against 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 ...

, when he caught a line drive from

Homer Summa Homer Wayne Summa (November 3, 1898 – January 29, 1966) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1920 to 1930. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but played most of his care ...

, stepped on first to retire

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 ...

, and despite shouts from his shortstop to throw him the ball, raced towards second base to retire

Glenn Myatt Glenn Calvin Myatt (July 9, 1897 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1920 to 1935 for the Philadelphia Athletics (1920–1921), Cleveland Indians (1922–1935), New York ...

, completing the seventh

in MLB history, and the first such play to end a game. Neun became the second, and most recent, first baseman to accomplish the feat. It came one day after Jimmy Cooney of 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 ...

turned his own unassisted triple play. On July 9, 1927, playing against the

, Neun had five base hits and five stolen bases. He is the only player since at least 1914 to have at least five of each in one game. Nevertheless, he stole only 41 bases in his career. A switch-hitter who threw left-handed, Neun batted .289 with two

home run 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 ...

s and 85 RBI in 945

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s during his seven-year

career. In 1935, after retiring as a player, Neun began managing in the

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 ...

, and from 1938 through 1941, he piloted the AA

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, winning

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

regular season championships in 1938 (104 wins) and 1941 (100 wins) and the 1938 playoff title. He then spent two seasons as skipper of the Yanks' other top affiliate, the Kansas City Blues of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

(where he won another regular-season pennant, in 1942), before joining the New York

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

staff in 1944. In September 1946, he was hired as the manager of the Yankees, replacing

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 19 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in ...

. His stint in New York lasted only 14 games (8-6) through the third-place Yankees' final regular season game. During the offseason, he was hired by the

as the successor to

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 ...

manager

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win Wo ...

. Neun piloted the Reds for all of and through August 5, 1948, compiling a record of 117–137 ( .461). He was dismissed after 100 games in in favor of

Bucky Walters William Henry "Bucky" Walters (April 19, 1909 – April 20, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1950. He was a six-time All-Star and the 1939 National League Most Valuable Player ...

. He continued working in the game, and into his eighties 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, sectio ...

and instructor for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Managerial record

Neun and Cooney

Despite their joint fame, Neun and Jimmy Cooney never actually met, as they were playing in different leagues. (They did face each other in a minor league game in 1929, but didn't exchange words.) Finally, nearly six decades later, in 1986,

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

arranged a conference call between the two. Neun died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in his birthplace of Baltimore at age 89.Former manager dies of cancer
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neun, Johnny 1900 births 1990 deaths Akron Yankees players Baltimore City College alumni Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Baltimore Birmingham Barons players Boston Braves players California Angels scouts Cincinnati Reds managers Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from pancreatic cancer Detroit Tigers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) managers Major League Baseball first basemen Martinsburg Mountaineers players Milwaukee Brewers scouts Minor league baseball managers Newark Bears (IL) players New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees managers New York Yankees scouts Norfolk Tars players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Toledo Mud Hens players