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, pe ...

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,

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 ...

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

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 ...

. Born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, Kahn was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

during his playing days. He threw and batted right-handed, 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. He initially signed with his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, and spent his career in a number of Major League

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 ...

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 Field ...

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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

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

, he joined the

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

' organization as a scout and minor league manager in 1960, serving into the 1980s. Kahn settled in Albany, Georgia, 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 nonprofit 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 from every major ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Lou 1915 births 2002 deaths Albany Travelers players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 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 People 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