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Thomas Kain

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Thomas Kain
Born(1907-07-07)July 7, 1907
Nashville, Tennessee, US
DiedJune 24, 1971(1971-06-24) (aged 63)
Nashville, Tennessee, US
Other namesShaky
Alma materUniversity of Georgia
Occupations
  • Professional baseball pitcher (1927, 1929–37, 1939, 1941–43)
  • Professional baseball manager (1939–1943, 1946)
  • Professional baseball scout (1947–1951, 1956–1968)
  • College football referee (1935–1963)
SpouseMary Ruth Woolard
Children2
AwardsTennessee Sports Hall of Fame (1986)

Thomas Gerald "Shaky" Kain (July 7, 1907 – June 24, 1971) was a professional baseball pitcher for 14 seasons in Minor League Baseball, a three-time championship-winning manager at that level for six seasons, a scout for Major League Baseball teams, and a college football referee.

Early life

Kain was born in 1907 in Nashville, Tennessee,[1] and attended Hume-Fogg High School. He then attended the University of Georgia where he played college football, as a fullback and halfback, and college baseball.[2]

Sports career

Kain was a pitcher in the minor leagues in 1927, 1929–1937, 1939, and 1941–1943, spending most of his career in the New York Yankees farm system. He had a win–loss record of 87–70 in 217 games pitched—although minor league baseball records for the era are incomplete—winning as many as 16 games in a season four times.[3]

He then was a manager in the minor leagues for the Butler Yankees (1939-1941), Amsterdam Rugmakers (1942) and Norfolk Tars (1943, 1946). He led his teams to the playoffs each year he managed.[2]

Kain was a scout for the Yankees from 1947 to 1948, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1949 to 1951, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1959, and the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1968.[2]

During the baseball offseason, Kain was a college football referee in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a job he held for 28 years (1935–1963).[4] He was considered the top referee at the time, being selected to officiate 14 consecutive Senior Bowls.[2]

Personal life

Kain was married in 1932; he and his wife had two sons.[2] During World War II, he spent two years working for Vultee Aircraft in Nashville.[2] Kain was elected to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1986,[4] and to the Middle Tennessee Football Officials Association (MTFOA) Hall of Fame in 2017.[5] He died in Nashville in 1971,[6] and is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery there.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Draft Registration Card". fold3.com. Selective Service System. February 1942. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sandoval, Jim. "Thomas Kain". SABR.
  3. ^ "Kain Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Kain, Thomas "Shaky"". Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
  5. ^ "MTFOA Hall of Fame Members". mtfoa.org. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Grid Referee Shaky Kain Dies In Nashville". The Sacramento Bee. AP. June 25, 1971. p. C3. Retrieved November 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
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