Johnny Keane
From BR Bullpen
John Joseph Keane
- Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
- Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.
- Born November 3, 1911 in St. Louis, MO USA
- Died January 6, 1967 in Houston, TX USA
Contents |
[edit] Biographical Information
Johnny Keane spent 17 years managing in the minors for the St. Louis Cardinals, moving his way up from D ball in 1938 (at age 26) to the Rochester Red Wings (1949-1951) in the International League and the Columbus Red Birds (1952-1954) and Omaha Cardinals in the AA. He was a Cardinal coach 1959-1961, when he was named manager on July 6, 1961, replacing Solly Hemus. Overall, his minor league teams were 1,357-1,166.
After leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series triumph over the New York Yankees in 1964, Keane' jumped to the Yankees to manage them for the 1965 season. The move did not turn out well, however, as the Yankees finished far out of contention with a losing record. They would not return to contention again for another decade. Bill Veeck spends most of the second chapter of his book The Hustler's Handbook describing the behind scenes maneuverings that went into this move. Ralph Houk as GM in New York, Yogi Berra as the manager, Bing Devine and Branch Rickey battling over the GM position in St. Louis, and Gussie Busch making overtures to Leo Durocher to manage the Cardinals. Fascinating.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- ML Manager of the Year Award (1964)
- NL Pennants: 1 (1964)
- Managed one World Series Champion with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964
| Preceded by Solly Hemus | St. Louis Cardinals Manager 1961-1964 | Succeeded by Red Schoendienst |
| Preceded by Yogi Berra | New York Yankees Manager 1965-1966 | Succeeded by Ralph Houk |
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
