Johnny Keane

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John Joseph Keane

BR Manager page

Biographical Information[edit]

Johnny Keane spent 17 years managing in the minors for the St. Louis Cardinals, moving his way up from Class 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 American Association. He was a Cardinals coach from 1959 to 1961, when he was named the team's 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 that season, then got off to an awful start in 1966, at which point Keane was dismissed and general manager Ralph Houk returned behind the bench. The Yankees would not return to contention again for another decade. Keane signed on with the California Angels in late 1966 as a "special scout", which was a way of saying that he was in the wings waiting for Bill Rigney to quit, but obviously that never happened.

Bill Veeck spends most of the second chapter of his book The Hustler's Handbook describing the behind-the-scenes maneuverings that went into the Keane/Yankees move. The main players are Ralph Houk as general manager 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.

Notable Achievements[edit]


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

Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs Notes
1938 Albany Travelers Georgia-Florida League 84-42 1st St. Louis Cardinals League Champs
1939 Albany Cardinals Georgia-Florida League 80-53 1st St. Louis Cardinals League Champs
1940 Mobile Shippers Southeastern League 72-72 3rd St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1941 New Iberia Cardinals Evangeline League 88-42 1st St. Louis Cardinals League Champs
1946 Houston Buffaloes Texas League 64-89 6th St. Louis Cardinals
1947 Houston Buffaloes Texas League 96-58 1st St. Louis Cardinals League Champs
1948 Houston Buffaloes Texas League 82-71 3rd St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1949 Rochester Red Wings International League 85-67 2nd St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1950 Rochester Red Wings International League 92-59 1st St. Louis Cardinals Lost League Finals
1951 Rochester Red Wings International League 83-69 2nd St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1952 Columbus Red Birds American Association 68-85 7th St. Louis Cardinals
1953 Columbus Red Birds American Association 64-90 7th St. Louis Cardinals
1954 Columbus Red Birds American Association 77-76 4th St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1955 Omaha Cardinals American Association 84-70 2nd St. Louis Cardinals Lost League Finals
1956 Omaha Cardinals American Association 82-71 3rd St. Louis Cardinals Lost in 1st round
1957 Omaha Cardinals American Association 76-78 5th St. Louis Cardinals
1958 Omaha Cardinals American Association 80-74 5th St. Louis Cardinals
1961 St. Louis Cardinals National League 47-33 5th St. Louis Cardinals replaced Solly Hemus (33-41) on July 6
1962 St. Louis Cardinals National League 84-78 6th St. Louis Cardinals
1963 St. Louis Cardinals National League 93-69 2nd St. Louis Cardinals
1964 St. Louis Cardinals National League 93-69 1st St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champs
1965 New York Yankees American League 77-85 6th New York Yankees
1966 New York Yankees American League 4-16 -- New York Yankees replaced by Ralph Houk on May 7

Related Sites[edit]