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| Johnny Neun | |
|---|---|
 Johnny Neun in 1948 | |
| First baseman /Manager | |
| Born:(1900-10-28)October 28, 1900 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| Died: March 28, 1990(1990-03-28) (aged 89) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 14, 1925, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1931, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .289 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 85 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
John Henry Neun (October 28, 1900 – March 28, 1990) was an American professionalbaseball player andmanager. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as afirst baseman from 1925 to 1931 for theDetroit Tigers and theBoston Braves. Neun is notable for completing the seventhunassisted triple play in MLB history. After his playing career he served as the manager for theNew York Yankees and theCincinnati Reds.
Neun was born inBaltimore, Maryland. Although never an everyday player (he never played more than 97 games a season), Neun entered baseball immortality on May 31, 1927 against theCleveland Indians, when he caught a line drive fromHomer Summa, stepped on first to retireCharlie Jamieson, and despite shouts from his shortstop to throw him the ball, raced towards second base to retireGlenn Myatt, completing the seventhunassisted triple play in MLB history, and the first such play to end a game. Neun became the second, and most recent, first baseman to accomplish the feat. It came one day afterJimmy Cooney of theChicago Cubs turned his own unassisted triple play.
On July 9, 1927, playing against theNew York Yankees, Neun had five base hits and five stolen bases.[1] He is the only player since at least 1914 to have at least five of each in one game.[2] Nevertheless, he stole only 41 bases in his career.
A switch-hitter who threw left-handed, Neunbatted .289 with twohome runs and 85RBI in 945at bats during his seven-yearMajor League Baseball career.
In 1935, after retiring as a player, Neun began managing in theNew York Yankees'farm system, and from 1938 through 1941, he piloted theAANewark Bears, winningInternational League regular season championships in 1938 (104 wins) and 1941 (100 wins) and the 1938 playoff title. He then spent two seasons as skipper of the Yanks' other top affiliate, theKansas City Blues of theAmerican Association (where he won another regular-season pennant, in 1942), before joining the New Yorkcoaching staff in 1944.
In September 1946, he was hired as the manager of the Yankees, replacingBill Dickey. His stint in New York lasted only 14 games (8-6) through the third-place Yankees' final regular season game. During the offseason, he was hired by theCincinnati Reds as the successor toHall of Fame managerBill McKechnie. Neun piloted the Reds for all of1947 and through August 5, 1948, compiling a record of 117–137 (.461). He was dismissed after 100 games in1948 in favor ofBucky Walters. He continued working in the game, and into his eighties was ascout and instructor for theMilwaukee Brewers.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| NYY | 1946 | 14 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3rd in AL | – | – | – | – |
| NYY total | 14 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| CIN | 1947 | 154 | 73 | 81 | .474 | 5th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| CIN | 1948 | 100 | 44 | 56 | .440 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| CIN total | 254 | 117 | 137 | .461 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total | 268 | 125 | 143 | .466 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Despite their joint fame, Neun and Jimmy Cooney never actually met, as they were playing in different leagues. (They did face each other in a minor league game in 1929, but didn't exchange words.) Finally, nearly six decades later, in 1986,Sports Illustrated arranged a conference call between the two.[3]
Neun died ofpancreatic cancer in his birthplace of Baltimore at age 89.[4]