Danny Menendez

Daniel Henry Menendez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.
• School Western Illinois University

• Born June 5, 1916 in East St. Louis, IL USA
• Died November 3, 1995

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Danny Menendez was a true baseball lifer, starting as a minor league player, and later serving as a minor league owner, major league assistant general manager and scouting director.

Born in East St. Louis, IL, he was first noticed by Branch Rickey of the St. Louis Cardinals and before he first played professionally was hired to serve as a 17-year-old on the team's practice squad in the mid-1930s, as a middle infielder, while still in college. He quickly moved permanently to second base, as he did not have the arm to play shortstop at a high level, but he was a good defensive player with better than average speed. His formal minor league career lasted from 1938 to 1941, his first stop being with the Johnstown Johnnies of the Middle Atlantic League, a St. Louis Browns affiliate, being signed by Bill DeWitt. He hit .313 in 19 games. In 1929, he was with the Hopkinsville Hoppers of the Kitty League, hitting .276 in 41 games. His final two seasons as a player were with the Opelousas Indians of the Evangeline League, but his batting average kept going down, to .237 in 117 games the first year, and .164 in 17 games the second.

He soon started working as a scout for the New York Yankees after that, the first player he signed being Hank Bauer, who was from his hometown of East St. Louis, IL.

In 1952, he purchased the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association for $75,000, but the team suffered from chronic low attendance and he quickly accepted an offer to buy the team from a group based in Charleston, WV, where the Mud Hens moved on June 23rd, becoming the Charleston Senators. That caused Menendez some grief as some season ticket holders complained that he had reneged on a promise to keep the team in Toledo until the end of the season, cheating them out of $1,700 worth of tickets. They filed a criminal complaint and on August 5th he was indicted and arrested on charges of fraud. He got the money for purchasing the Mud Hens thanks to a loan from Lou Jacobs, who was associated with the underworld, but was also a big baseball fan always willing to give support to the minor leagues.

He was one of the earliest employees of the expansion Montreal Expos, hired by General Manager John McHale to be his principal assistant in 1969. He served as minor league supervisor and assistant General Manager during the team's early years, then was scouting director from September of 1981 until January 1, 1983, during the period when Jim Fanning was plucked from his front office job to take over as the Expos' field manager. He moved to scouting supervisor for the southeastern United States when Fannning resumed his old job. Among the players he signed for the Expos were Luis Rivera, Nelson Santovenia and Randy St. Claire. During his early years with the team, his links with Jacobs resurfaced, as his two sons, Jerry and Max, made a $2 million loan to the team in exchange for the right to run concessions at Parc Jarry, a deal that raised the interest of the House Select Committee on Organized Crime. He sent a letter to the Committee during the hearings, testifying on behalf of the family's good reputation within sports circles. For his part, McHale, who had also known the Jacobs family for a long time, defended the deal as simply a good baseball deal, Jacobs' company having a lot of experience in running concessions not just in baseball but also in hockey.

He was a scout with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991. He was living in Wisconsin Dells, WI when he passed away in 1995 at the age of 79.

Related Sites

• Interview for SABR's Oral History Committee