Leslie Mann (athlete)
Leslie Mann (November 18, 1892 – January 14, 1962) was an American athlete and sports administrator. He played college football and professional baseball, and went on to coach football, baseball, and basketball. He was the founder and first president of the International Baseball Federation (IBF), the predecessor to the modern World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
For the actress, see Leslie Mann.
Leslie Mann
Office established
November 18, 1892
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
January 14, 1962 (aged 69)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
.282
1,332
503
43–30
Mann played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1913 to 1928 for seven teams, spending eight years of his career with the Boston Braves. After his playing career, Mann became a tireless promoter of international amateur baseball, founding the U.S. Amateur Baseball Federation in 1931 and the International Baseball Federation in 1938. He helped bring baseball to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and coached the United States national team at the inaugural 1938 Amateur World Series. His efforts to further internationalize the game were derailed by World War II.
Mann was the head basketball coach at Rice Institute (1919–1920), Indiana University (1922–1924), and Springfield College (1924–1926). He compiled a career record of 43–30 in five seasons as a head basketball coach.
Early years[edit]
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mann attended the Y.M.C.A. College in Springfield, Massachusetts.[1] He played both football and basketball at Springfield and was regarded as "one of the best football players the training school ever had."[2]
Coaching career[edit]
Mann also worked for many years as a college football and basketball coach. From 1914 to 1916, he was a basketball coach at Amherst College.[1][2][4][5]
In 1919, he became a coach at Rice Institute in Houston.[1] In February 1922, Mann was hired as an assistant football coach at Indiana.[1][6] He also coached the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team during the 1922–23 and 1923–24 seasons.[7]
Starting in 1924, Mann was hired as the head basketball coach and assistant football coach at his alma mater, which by then had become Springfield College.[8]
Later years[edit]
He died in Pasadena, California on January 14, 1962, aged 69.
Source:[14]