Kuenn, Harvey

Harvey Kuenn, in full Harvey Edward Kuenn, (born December 4, 1930, West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S.—died February 28, 1988, Peoria, Arizona), American baseball player and manager.

Kuenn established his reputation as a star shortstop and batting powerhouse with the American League (AL) Detroit Tigers (1952–60). He was named the AL rookie of the year in 1953 after totaling a league-leading 209 hits, and in 1959 he won his only career batting title, with a .353 average. Kuenn was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1960 and then played with the San Francisco Giants (1961–65), the Chicago Cubs (1965–66), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1966) before retiring as a player in 1966. He served as a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1971 to 1982 and then managed the team from 1982 to 1983, leading them to their only AL pennant (1982). Kuenn was dismissed when the team finished fifth the following year. During his career he was named an All-Star eight times, and he compiled a lifetime batting average of .303 with 2,092 hits, including 356 doubles and 87 home runs. He also had 671 runs batted in and scored 951 runs.