Leslie Mann (athlete)

For the actress, seeLeslie Mann.

Leslie Mann
Mann fromThe Arbutus,1923
President of the IBF
In office August 18, 1938 – October 6, 1940
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jaime Mariné
Personal details
Born	(1892-11-18)November 18, 1892 Lincoln, Nebraska,U.S.
Died	January 14, 1962(1962-01-14)(aged 69) Pasadena, California,U.S.
Alma mater	International YMCA College
Baseball career
Outfielder
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 30, 1913, for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1928, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average	.282
Hits	1,332
Runs batted in	503
StatsatBaseball Reference
Teams
Boston Braves(1913–1914) Chicago Whales(1915) Chicago Cubs(1916–1919) Boston Braves(1919–1920) St. Louis Cardinals(1921–1923) Cincinnati Reds(1923) Boston Braves(1924–1927) New York Giants(1927–1928)
Career highlights and awards
World Serieschampion (1914) Federal Leaguepennant winner (1915)
Coaching career
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
Basketball
1915–1918	Amherst
1919–1920	Rice
1922–1924	Indiana
1924–1926	Springfield (MA)
Head coaching record
Overall	43–30

Leslie Mann(November 18, 1892 – January 14, 1962) was an American athlete and sports administrator. He playedcollege footballand professionalbaseball,and went on to coach football, baseball, andbasketball.He was the founder and first president of theInternational Baseball Federation(IBF), the predecessor to the modernWorld Baseball Softball Confederation(WBSC).

Mann played inMajor League Baseball(MLB) as anoutfielderfrom 1913 to 1928 for seven teams, spending eight years of his career with theBoston Braves.After his playing career, Mann became a tireless promoter of international amateur baseball, founding theU.S. Amateur Baseball Federationin 1931 and the International Baseball Federation in 1938. He helped bring baseball to the1936 Berlin Olympicsand coached theUnited States national teamat the inaugural1938 Amateur World Series.His efforts to further internationalize the game were derailed byWorld War II.

Mann was the head basketball coach atRice Institute(1919–1920),Indiana University(1922–1924), andSpringfield College(1924–1926). He compiled a career record of 43–30 in five seasons as a head basketball coach.

Early years

Born inLincoln, Nebraska,Mann attended the Y.M.C.A. College inSpringfield, Massachusetts.He played both football and basketball at Springfield and was regarded as "one of the best football players the training school ever had."

Playing career

Mann later became a professional baseball player. From 1913 to 1928, he played for theBoston Braves,St. Louis Cardinals,Cincinnati Reds,New York Giants,andChicago Cubs.

He was a member of the1914 "Miracle" Bravesteam that went from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win apennantafter being in last place on the Fourth of July.The team then went on to defeatConnie Mack's heavily favoredPhiladelphia Athleticsin the1914 World Series.

Mann jumped to the rivalFederal Leaguein 1915, signing with theChicago Whales.The short lived league was in its final season, but Mann recorded his best season as a professional, batting.306 and leading the league with 19 triples asthe Whales won the pennant.

With the demise of the Federal League, Mann returned to Major League Baseball as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1916. As a member of thepennant winning Cubs in 1918,Mann also recorded an RBI single offBabe Ruthin Game 4 of the1918 World Series.Ruth'sBoston Red Soxdefeated the Cubs 4-2 to win the Series, theirlast World Series title until 2004.

Mann served mostly as a platoon player from 1919 onward. Although he'd bat over.300 in several season over the final part of his career, Mann did do so falling well short of the necessary plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.

Mann had a reputation as a "clean" player, who disapproved of vices like drinking and gambling in the clubhouse. While he was with the Cardinals in 1922, he received a letter from Giants pitcherPhil Douglas.Douglas, at odds with Giants managerJohn McGraw,suggested that he would be willing to jump ship, effectively tipping the pennant race to the Cardinals. Mann advised managerBranch Rickey,who passed the letter toBaseball CommissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis,who banned Douglas from baseball for life.

Coaching career

Mann also worked for many years as a college football and basketball coach. From 1914 to 1916, he was a basketball coach atAmherst College.

In 1919, he became a coach atRice InstituteinHouston.In February 1922, Mann was hired as an assistant football coach atIndiana.He also coached theIndiana Hoosiers men's basketballteam during the 1922–23 and 1923–24 seasons.

Starting in 1924, Mann was hired as the head basketball coach and assistant football coach at his alma mater, which by then had becomeSpringfield College.

International baseball

Leslie Mann in 1940

After retiring as a player and coach, Mann became an advocate for baseball as an international sport. He founded the U.S.A. Baseball Congress, and organized a 20-game tour of Japan in 1935.

Mann went on to found theInternational Baseball Federation(IBF) in 1938. Its inaugural tournament was held in England, billed as theAmateur World Series.TheEnglish team,composed mainly of Canadian college players, won 4 out of 5 games against theAmerican team.The IBF also organized subsequent championships inCuba in 1939and Puerto Rico in 1941.

Mann fought to includebaseball at the Summer Olympics.He petitioned theUS Olympic Committeeto include baseball as a demonstration sport at the1932 Los Angeles Games,but the committee chose football and lacrosse instead.Baseball's inclusion in the Olympics was opposed by powerful figures likeAvery Brundage,head of the USOC (and future president of theInternational Olympic Committee), who was "a firm believer in the idea that there was no such thing as an amateur baseball player."Nevertheless, Mann's efforts to promote the sport got baseball was selected as a demonstration sport in the1936 Summer Olympicsplayed in Berlin. Originally, the United States team was scheduled to play aJapanese team,but the Japanese withdrew. The American team was separated into two squads who competed against each other in a single game. The "World Champions" lineup beat the "U. S. Olympics" lineup by a score of 6–5 before a crowd of 100,000 people on August 12, 1936.

World War IIbrought Mann's efforts to an end.His plans for the1940 Olympic Gamesin Tokyo – where baseball had already been approved as a demonstration sport – were scuttled after Japan forfeited the games. Mann also had hopes to establish Olympic baseball at the1944 Gamesin London, but those too were canceled due to the outbreak of war.

Mann also arranged a 33-game tour ofSouth AfricaandRhodesiabetween November 1955 and February 1956.

Later years

He died inPasadena, Californiaon January 14, 1962, aged 69.

Head coaching records

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Rice Owls(Southwest Conference)(1919–1920)
1919-20	Rice	6-6
Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(1923–1924)
1922–23	Indiana	8–7	5–7	7th
1923–24	Indiana	11–6	7–5	T–6th
Indiana:		19–13	12–12
Total:		43-30
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Hitting and fielding stats

• 1,498 Games
• 4,716 At-bats
• 1,332 Hits
• 677 Runs
• 203 Doubles
• 106 Triples
• 44 Home runs
• 503 RBIs
• 129 Stolen bases
• 324 Bases on balls
• .282 Batting average
• .332 On-base percentage
• .398 Slugging percentage
• .966 Fielding percentage

Source:

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders

External links

• Career statistics fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
• Leslie Mannat College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com