He began his managerial career five years before I was born. His first season managing was George Brett's MLB debut. His first game was against Frank Robinson - the player, not the manager. He managed Hal McRae and Tony Armas - both of whom had sons who were MLBers who have already retired.

In sum, Jack McKeon is old.

I think this is great.

Jack McKeon managed Jim Kaat ... in the minor leagues. Fifty-three years ago.

McKeon was the catcher-manager of the Missoula Timberjacks, and Jim Kaat was a 16-game winner.

This was not his first year as manager--that would be 1955, 56 years ago.

McKeon's first pro team included a 29 year old left fielder named Lou Piniella.

Since then, Piniella played until he was 40, then compiled a 1835-1713 record as manager. Then retired.

McKeon is old.

When Jack McKeon began his MLB managerial career:

Cards manager Tony LaRussa had yet to win any of his 2677 games as manager and instead would soon play his final MLB game as a player.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was hitting .274 with 16 HR for AAA Tacoma.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was in middle school.

Indians manager Manny Acta was four years old.

Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthropoulous, Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman, Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels, and Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein all had not yet been born.

Alaska and Hawaii weren't..........McKeon is old.

Hell the cubs were still good

Face the thing that should not be ...

fyi, McKeon managed the 1973 Royals to a winning record

http://www.baseball-reference.com/ma...ckeoja99.shtml

That team included 2B Cookie Rojas, who was a 1962 teammate of Joe Nuxhall, who debuted in 1944.

Nuxhall's teammates included Estel Crabtree, who in 1929 was a teammate of 1912 rookie Eppa Rixey, a Hall of Fame pitcher. Eppa broke in with a 25-yr-old Grover Cleveland Alexander as well as Earl Moore, who won 16 games in the American League's inaugural season of 1901. Earle surely got some pitching tips from Bill Hart, who as a youngster in 1886 probably learned a lot from Bobby Mathews, a 297-game winner who pitched for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, a member of the first professional baseball season - the National Association of 1871.

seven degrees of separation for the history of baseball? welcome back, Jack!

I had no ideafort wayne had one of the first pro teams

I didn't realize that Mack managed at 87. Holy cow.

I didn't realize that Mack managed at 87. Holy cow.

He was the A's manager/general manager/owner. Who the hell was going to fire him?

"I had no idea fort wayne had one of the first pro teams"

I married into Hoosier Nation, bought Valparaiso stock, so to speak...

He was the A's manager/general manager/owner. Who the hell was going to fire him?

Still, that's nuts. My grandmother is 88 and pretty with it, but the thought of her managing a baseball team is just insane.

Jack McKeon managed Lindy McDaniel. Lindy McDaniel pitched for the 1955 St. Louis Cardinals.

Loria's plan is all too clear to me: hire Jack Mckeon and wait until he gets so fed up with the b.s. that he dies on the job, then Loria doesn't have to fire him, either.

Then the manager who will have been hand-picked during Mckeon's tenure will be installed to carry the Miami Marlins to world domination.

Still, that's nuts. My grandmother is 88 and pretty with it, but the thought of her managing a baseball team is just insane.

Well, sure. Everyone knows a woman can't handle that level of responsibility.

Jack McKeon managed over 400 major league games before Generalísimo Francisco Franco was still dead.

Several months after Jack McKeon's managerial debut, Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton decided to split the cost of a television set.

Only his 5th decade of MLB managing though. :-)

I see from his b-r page that he was the A's manager at the start of the 77 season, leading them to a 26-27 record. He was replaced by Bobby Winkles who went 37-71. Winkles was still manager for the start of the 78 season, going 24-15 only to be replaced by (naturally) Jack McKeon who went 45-78.

Wisely the next year the A's hired former Cub manager Jim Marshall who promptly went 54-108. Perhaps surprisingly, they did not replace him with Jack McKeon.

Whaddya know? McKeon has never won a division.

Jack McKeon managed Jim Kaat ... in the minor leagues. Fifty-three years ago.

McKeon was the catcher-manager of the Missoula Timberjacks, and Jim Kaat was a 16-game winner.

HW, any opinion on his managing? :-)

Im sorry howie, you got a reagon rat! Though valpo isnt so bad

HW, any opinion on his managing? :-)

Folks - Jack McKeon is older than Harv. Older than Harv!!

At various points he's been away from managing for ten years, then seven years, then three years, then six years. I doubt we've seen that before.

McKeon played in the minors in 1949, so, if early in his playing career he was a teammate of a ballplayer who was on his way out of pro ball, that guy might have been born before WWOne.

BBRef has McKeon managing in the minors starting at the age of 24. Can that be right?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=mckeon001joh

Last night, when The Return of the Old Man was still just speculation, Dag Nabbit made this post in the Lounge:

Jack McKeon is older than James Dean or Elizabeth Taylor. He’s older than Mikhail Gorbachev or Ted Kennedy. He’s older than Sam Cooke. He’s older than Jim Jones. He’s older than Chuck Noll or Bill Walsh. He’s older than Harvey Kuenn.

Why not call Whitey Herzog? Sure he’d listen - and he’s younger than McKeon.

Knute Rockne was Notre Dame’s football coach when McKeon was born. Josef Stalin was still just consolidating power in the USSR. Speaking of totalitarian dictators, John McGraw was still managing the Giants. Al Capone was evading taxes in Chicago. Thomas Edison still ran his lab. The Cubs have won four pennants in his McKeon’s lifetime. Roger Connor, the pre-Ruth home run king, was still alive when McKeon was born.

Babe Ruth had 565 home runs when McKeon was born. Lou Gehrig had played only 887 games in a row when McKeon was born. There was no Baseball Hall of Fame. Or All-Star Game. The Tigers had never won a World Series game title.

Jack McKeon is older than legalized gambling in Nevada. The Star Spangled Banner wasn’t the official national anthem when McKeon was born. The Empire State Building was still under construction.

This would be like Tony LaRussa managing in 2024. Or Stalin Castro in 2070. Or Tom Kelly coming out of retirement to mange in 2031. "

McKeon played in the minors in 1949, so, if early in his playing career he was a teammate of a ballplayer who was on his way out of pro ball, that guy might have been born before WWOne.

Maybe. Depends. Aaron Robinson and McKeon both played on the 1955 Winston-Salem Twins, but you can't tell if they were actually teammates. Robinson was born in 1915, so WWI had started, but the U.S. hadn't yet declared war.

Jack isn't a charmer, but Jack can manage a baseball team. When I think of Jack I think of two teams, a decade apart, that were some of his best efforts.

The 1989 Padres and the 1999 Reds.

Jack took over the laughably incompetent Larry Bowa in 1988 and immediately got the team going in right direction. 1989 had high hopes but by mid-year the Padres looked lost. McKeon had gotten tired of John Kruk smiling all the time so had him shipped off to Philly. And then the team snapped around and were red hot the last two months finishing only 3 back of the Giants. You compare the two teams and you struggle to believe that the Padres won only 3 fewer games.

In 1998 Jack had the Reds for a full year and finished under .500. And then between trades and other events the 1999 team was almost completely different. New second baseman. New third baseman. Whole new outfield.

And it worked as the Reds won 96 games with a patchwork pitching staff and an offense anchored by Sean Casey's best season.

A year later Jack ran afoul of Ken Griffey Jr. who didn't appreciate getting pushed nor being criticized for not being Mike Cameron in centerfield. Ken is made of teflon so will never get the rap but he was part of the reason Jack was shown the door after winning 85 games. It was Jack McKeon who openly suggested Ken should move to right field. So despite being seventy years old then McKeon was still ahead of the curve.

Good luck Jack.

My grandmother is 88 and pretty with it, but the thought of her managing a baseball team is just insane.

I think a reality show where your grandmother and Mike Quade swap roles would be worth watching.

McKeon's first year as a ballplayer was with Greenville of the Alabama State League.

Greenville, a town of about seven thousand, hasn't had a pro baseball team since the ASL folded...

...sixty-one years ago.

For my money

Lou Gehrig had played only 887 games in a row when McKeon was born.

wins the thread, but I'd also be willing to wager that Pete Rose has his money on

Jack McKeon is older than legalized gambling in Nevada.

Jack McKeon might be older than Greg Oden.

The Greenville Pirates actually had two 18-year-old catchers who made the majors: McKeon and Danny Kravitz.

And Kravitz is...still alive! (Wonder if he and Jack are still in touch?)

Jack McKeon was managing in professional baseball when Ford Frick was MLB commissioner, when Bert Bell was scheduling NFL regular-season games with a checkerboard on his kitchen table, when Syracuse won the NBA championship. When Cy Young and Honus Wagner were still alive and Harry Agganis was still in the bigs. Before the Red Sox, Tigers and Phillies were integrated.

And Great Googamooga---he's older than Harveys.

And Kravitz is...still alive! (Wonder if he and Jack are still in touch?)

Sounds like pitching coach material to me!

Jack McKeon might be older than Greg Oden.

maybe--but don't get completely silly and start claiming he's older that Julio Franco

On the third day, Julio Franco separated the McKeon from the sky, and saw that it was good.

McKeon's first year as a ballplayer was with Greenville of the Alabama State League.

Greenville, a town of about seven thousand, hasn't had a pro baseball team since the ASL folded...

Live & learn. I have a friend who's from Greenville, which is maybe an hour from here.

Winkles was still manager for the start of the 78 season, going 24-15 only to be replaced by (naturally) Jack McKeon who went 45-78.

And that was the only time Jack didn't have the midseason golden touch. Interesting to see if he's still got it at 80.

Speaking of the Alabama State League, the league lineup for 1941 (before a 4-year hiatus from WWII ... was that typical of the Class-D leagues?) includes this -- Troy Dodgers/Tuskegee Airmen. I presume the Troy team moved or became a traveling squad or something during the season, but what an interesting identity they adopted, considering that not only were the minors (much less the majors) not integrated in '41, they were really not integrated in Alabama.

No matter what achievements he has had, I will always think of Jack McKeon as Padre GM Trader Jack. Thirty years ago, he pulled off the kinds of huge multi-player/multi-team deals that today are only found in the most creative of fantasy leagues. He may not have always come out ahead (the Ozzie Smith-Garry Templeton deal looks more lopsided today than it did at the time), but he got a previously moribund team to the 1984 World Series.

THT Live post: How old is Jack McKeon?

I lot of what I posted in yesterday's lounge (which powderhorn provides in post #24 here) is in the THT Live piece, but there are plenty of other bits as well. My favorite: Jack McKeon is older than Sparky Anderson.

One thing I didn't realize until just now: Jack McKeon is about to become only the seventh five-decade manager. The others are all sure-fire HoFers: Mack, McGraw, Durocher, Cox, Torre, & LaRussa.

No matter what achievements he has had, I will always think of Jack McKeon as Padre GM Trader Jack. Thirty years ago, he pulled off the kinds of huge multi-player/multi-team deals that today are only found in the most creative of fantasy leagues. He may not have always come out ahead (the Ozzie Smith-Garry Templeton deal looks more lopsided today than it did at the time), but he got a previously moribund team to the 1984 World Series.

Same here. In fact, when he was named manager of the Padres, I was just a kid, and I thought it was bizarre a team was hiring their GM as field manager, unaware he had managerial experience.

He pulled off the Fernandez/McGriff/Alomar/Carter blockbuster, right?

He pulled off the Fernandez/McGriff/Alomar/Carter blockbuster, right?

That was Joe McIlvaine, but Jack was responsible for the Padres' side of the giant Rollie Fingers deal in 1980 that helped shape both teams in the 1982 World Series, as well as the Garry Templeton/Ozzie Smith deal and the LaMarr Hoyt/Ozzie Guillen deal, just to name three.

Jack McKeon will be suspended during his first homestand for constantly yelling at opposing fielders to get off his lawn.

Jack McKeon is younger than Jamie Moyer.

Jack Mckeon is older than "Casablanca", "Citizen Kane", or "L'Atalante". He's even older than "M".

He's even older than "M"

WOW!!--they only had 25 letters in the alphabet when he was born??? He IS old..

From the Deseret News April 16, 1956:

All the excitement and enthusiasm which helped bring Missoula into professional baseball is also in evidence here, where Manager Jack McKeon is busy building a team for the Montana city's debut in the Pioneer League. ...

McKeon, who is in his first year in the Class C Circuit, readily admits he doesn't know what to expect. He promises he'll have a hustling, running ball club. ...

McKeon, himself a seasoned veteran, will handle the catching duties for the Timberjacks. A former catcher with New Orleans in the Southern Association League, McKeon has a fine reputation for handling pitchers.

Link to the above story and picture of young Jack McKeon

McKeon finished 2nd in the Pioneer League 1956 "manager of the year" balloting among sports writers. (Link)

Whaddya know? McKeon has never won a division.

Really? That's surprising.

McKeon played in the minors in 1949, so, if early in his playing career he was a teammate of a ballplayer who was on his way out of pro ball, that guy might have been born before WWOne.

Mckeon managed Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew was teammates with Connie Marrero on the 1954 Senators. Marrero was born in 1911.

Wikipedia says that McKeon was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, but in fact he was born in NW Africa and his parents walked over to New Jersey a few days later. You see, it was all Pangaea back then...

McKeon, himself a seasoned veteran

He was a seasoned veteran a half-century ago. Amazing!

This is fantastic. I really hope McKeon has the job next year and that Jamie Moyer signs with the Marlins. I think McKeon has earned the right to go around in street clothes if he damn well feels like it.

So here we have one relative baseball rarity, an ancient manager. I hope we get a player-manager next. THAT would be truly fantastic. Interesting pondering some possible contenders... if it was the 20s, Varitek and Jeter might have had a shot. Brad Ausmus would definitely have been a candidate, because he'd probably be an above-average hitting catcher anyway.

Jack McKeon was managing in professional baseball when Ford Frick was MLB commissioner, when Bert Bell was scheduling NFL regular-season games with a checkerboard on his kitchen table,...

I remember my mom doing this in the early sixties as part of her job running the girls' half of a sports camp. The camp opened in late June, when the elementary and middle schools in the area let out. In early June the yellow legal pad came out and long yellow sheets papered the kitchen table. We'd eat in the dining room or picnic table for a week or so, until she finished the schedule. There were roughly twelve groups of girls and a similar number of boys' groups, each had x activities to attend, and scheduling swimming after lunch was barred. Every group got popsicles some time between 2 and 4. I suspect she tried to not schedule the oldest boys and oldest girls adjacent to each other during the same hour, and she was careful not to have the youngest children (at three and four years old) have activities that would require them to cross the entire camp (on fifty acres, in Westchester County, New York) in one go. The number of groups fluctuated from year to year so she couldn't use the same schedule every year, although in a year where the number of groups decreased, I can't think of a good reason she couldn't have used the previous year's schedule, with the absent group's line simply left blank; I don't think she ever took that approach, though, since every year she'd be really, really occupied with the scheduling, and there were some down years when two of the older groups were combined into one group.

Would any software out there really have helped her all that much? In a year when the number of groups or activites increased, she'd still have to push the schedule around by hand, for the most part, or has scheduling software gotten so sophisticated that it handles a lot of that for you, or presents ready options that really simplify the work?

Isn't that just a linear programming exercise? ("Just", I know....)

Not my area, so I'm not sure exactly what the boundaries of a linear programming exercise are, but, yeah, in a very real sense it's a perfectly straightforward exercise. Complicated, I imagine, if you only do it once a year, even if you have a BA in Economics from a good school, and there might be more variables than I originally thought of--each group had two swim periods a day, and the pool, while Olympic-sized, couldn't handle all the kids at one time. She probably wanted to limit the number of kids who swam immediately before the buses took them home at the end of the day, since that means the kids are going home wet... Older groups might need to have tennis exactly twice a week, as the brochure promised their parents...

But, yeah, as complicated as it might get, it's certainly a tractable problem.

Heh. I was just handed an assignment to submit a teaching schedule for an academic department of ~100 faculty members, each with his/her own weird time-of-day predilections and teaching strengths, given a complicated curriculum that runs from "developmental" through graduate classes.

I think I'll copy last year's.

When I first began to do academic scheduling, in the mid-'90s, we used spreadsheets: by which I mean pieces of paper, taped together, and ruled in big boxes, with assignments penciled in. To fit everyone in we took half-sheets of paper with people's preferences listed, and laid them out on the biggest freaking table we could find. In some ways, Microsoft Excel is no improvement. Work with a huge freaking tabletop, and there's no need to scroll up and down and squint at stuff. I can relate to Bert Bell and his checkerboard.

Oh, and this guy is coaching for Ft Worth this year. Count me unimpressed by McKeon :)