View source for Lou Kahn

{{about|the baseball player|the architect|Louis Kahn}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Lou Kahn
|image=Lou Kahn 1948.jpg
|image_size=160px
|caption=Kahn, circa 1948
|team=
|number=
|position=[[Coach (baseball)|Coach]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1915|12|4}}
|birth_place=[[St. Louis, Missouri]]
|death_date={{death date and age|2002|3|13|1915|12|4}}
|death_place=[[Albany, Georgia]]
|teams=
'''As coach'''
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1954–1955)}}
'''Louis Kahn Jr.''' (December 4, 1915 – March 13, 2002) was an [[Americans|American]] professional [[baseball]] player, [[manager (baseball)|manager]], [[scout (sports)|scout]] and [[coach (baseball)|coach]]. Born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], Kahn was a [[catcher]] during his playing days. He threw and batted [[right-handed]], stood 5 feet, 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91&nbsp;kg).
Kahn's playing career extended for 17 seasons (1936–42 and 1944–53), all in [[minor league baseball]]. He initially signed with his hometown [[St. Louis Cardinals]], and spent his career in a number of [[Major League Baseball|Major League]] [[farm system]]s. Although he [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .304 in 1,507 minor league games, he never rose higher than the top level of the minors.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=kahn--001lou Baseball Reference (minors)]</ref>
During the course of his lengthy playing career, Kahn toiled for three seasons under executive [[Branch Rickey]], inventor of the farm system, and Kahn came to be known as a fierce critic of Rickey and the system he created. "He knocked down everyone's salaries, and he put the difference between what they got, and what they should have got, in his own pocket," Kahn once said. "I was just a number to Branch Rickey. He ran baseball factories and screwed his players every way but right side up."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kerrane |first=Kevin |author-link= |date=2013 |title=Dollar Sign on the Muscle: The World of Baseball Scouting |url= |location= |publisher=Baseball Prospectus Entertainment Ventures |page=53 |isbn=1492765074}}</ref>
Kahn, however, did have a long career in the game after his catching career ended. After working as a Major League coach for the 1954–55 Cardinals and coaching for the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Rochester Red Wings]] and [[Toronto Maple Leafs (International League)|Toronto Maple Leafs]] of the [[International League]],<ref name="lou4">{{cite web|last=Foster|first=Jim|title=Kahn to Pilot Spartanburg Baseball Team|date=January 27, 1963|publisher=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19630127&id=TTssAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C8wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6926,3151704&hl=en|accessdate=2015-08-29}}</ref> he joined the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]' organization as a scout and minor league manager in 1960, serving into the 1980s.
Kahn settled in [[Albany, Georgia]], where he played minor league baseball in 1937, and was a pecan-buyer during the off-season.<ref name="lou4"/> He died in Albany at the age of 86.
==See also==
* [[List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/K/Pkahnl801.htm Coach's page] from [[Retrosheet]]
*{{baseballstats|brm=kahn--001lou}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Lou}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Albany Travelers players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles (International League) players]]
[[Category:Baseball coaches from Missouri]]
[[Category:Baseball players from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Birmingham Barons players]]
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[[Category:Charleston Senators players]]
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[[Category:Johnstown Johnnies players]]
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[[Category:Norfolk Tides managers]]
[[Category:Palestine Pals players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies scouts]]
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[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals coaches]]
[[Category:Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players]]