The city of Louisville recently lost a great athlete and man, and as such, I saw it only fitting to highlight him as a sports legend of the Ville.
The news came last summer that the former Mr. Male, Kenny Kuhn, had passed. But, rather than discuss his death, now is the time to discuss his life.
Born 1937 in Louisville, Kuhn was born to compete it seemed. And, people began to really notice this during his time at Male high school, where the multi-talented Kuhn played football, baseball, basketball and ran track. He did more than just lettered in these sports in the 50’s, but did each of them well.
It was in 1955, though, that people were forced to take note of Kuhn’s talents and abilities when he became Mr. Basketball, after showing himself to be an outstanding player during the Kentucky-Indiana All Star game.
During his time on the court, Kuhn was named an all-state player by the Courier-Journal three years in a row, and an all-state quarterback on the grid-iron, a feat which got the attention of several local colleges including Indiana.
Still, Kuhn couldn’t resist the pull of baseball and, in 1955, signed with the Cleveland Indians and legendary coach Hank Greenberg who called Kuhn, “the finest young infielder I've seen in a long time.” It was true as well that Kuhn’s work ethic was much of the reason that he was drafted to the pros so young.
Retiring in 1963 after spending several years in the minor leagues, Kuhn found his place working in development at companies like Kentucky Fried Chicken, California’s Children’s Discovery Centers, and Mister Donut.
They say a measure of a man is what those around him see as his truth. Certainly that’s true for Kuhn who, while working at the Children’s Discovery Center, made such an impact on the kids that they actually bid his baseball card up to $1,700 dollars. His glove meanwhile went to one of his peers for the sum of about $2,300 dollars.
Passion and a love for sports and the people around it truly mark this sports legend of the ‘Ville.
I have to thank Chas Kuhn for all the great info about his legendary great uncle and
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Kenny_Kuhn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Kuhn
Image: Baseball-Reference
