Ken Penner

Kenneth William Penner

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut September 11, 1916
• Final Game September 4, 1929
• Born April 24, 1896 in Boonville, IN USA
• Died May 28, 1959 in Sacramento, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ken Penner, a great minor league pitcher, was briefly in the majors in 1916 and 1929. With the Chicago Cubs in 1929 he posted an ERA of 2.84. The Cubs went on to win the pennant, but Penner did not appear in the World Series.

With the Cubs, he was the same age as teammate Rogers Hornsby.

He pitched professionally from 1913 to 1938 (with token appearances in 1942 and 1943). He accumulated a 330-284 minor league record to go with a 3.67 ERA in 5,571 innings. Penner led the 1916 Central Association with a 1.41 ERA and the 1927 Texas League with a 2.52 ERA.

Penner was a coach for the Sacramento Solons in 1941-1942 and a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1945 to 1957.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1934	Louisville Colonels	American Association	49-40	4th	none		replaced Bruno Betzel (29-34) on June 22
1935	Louisville Colonels	American Association	52-97	8th	none	none
1936	Crookston Pirates	Northern League	54-68	7th	Chicago White Sox
1937	Montgomery Bombers	Southeastern League	38-60	--	Milwaukee Brewers	--	replaced by Harry Griswold (0-4) on July 24
1938	Bellingham Chinooks	Western International League	68-65	2nd	Hollywood Stars	League Champs
1939	Bellingham Chinooks	Western International League	40-102	6th	none
1940	Pocatello Cardinals	Pioneer League	62-68	5th	St. Louis Cardinals
1943	Sacramento Solons	Pacific Coast League	41-114	8th	St. Louis Cardinals
1944	Rochester Red Wings	International League	71-82	7th	St. Louis Cardinals

Further Reading

• Chip Greene: "Ken Penner", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: Winning on the North Side: the 1929 Chicago Cubs, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 140-144. ISBN 978-1-933599-89-2

Related Sites

• Ken Penner at the SABR Bio Project