Recently, Jack McKeon took over as manager of the Florida Marlins after and abysmal 1-19 beginning to the month of June. At 80 years old, Jack McKeon is now the 2nd oldest man ever to manage a professional baseball team. Connie Mack holds the record by coaching the Philadelphia Athletics (the team he owned) till 87.
McKeon was born in 1930, so I have compiled a list of interesting facts from that year.
- January 13 – The Mickey Mouse comic strip makes its first appearance.
- February 18 – Clyde Tombaugh confirms the existence of Pluto.
- April 6 – Hostess Twinkies are invented.
- April 17 – Neoprene is invented.
- April 19 – Warner Bros. release their first cartoon series called ‘Looney Tunes’ which runs until 1970.
- August 9 – Betty Boop premiers in the animated film Dizzy Dishes.
- September 8 – 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.
- December 7 – W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts broadcasts the first television commercial in the United States
Just for good measure, here are a few people that were also born in 1930:
- January 10 – Roy E. Disney
- January 20 – Buzz Aldrin
- January 30 – Gene Hackman
- February 10 – Robert Wagner
- May 10 – Pat Summerall
- May 31 – Clint Eastwood
- June 27 – Ross Perot
- August 5 – Neil Armstrong
- August 30 – Warren Buffett
- October 24 – The Big Bopper
Let it be said, Jack McKeon is old, and I wish him the best of luck. The Marlins have a ton of talent, maybe they just need a skipper like him to bring them back to relevance. He already did it once, why not again?
Image Source – CNN.com