Kissell's play led to legendary career

George Kissell played professional baseball for more than a decade, but what he's done since has made him one of the most revered and beloved people in the history of the sport.

In the more than 60 years since he signed a pro contract to play baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Evans Mills native has taught virtually every player that has gone through the organization.

Kissell's association with the Cardinals goes back to 1940, the longest affiliation between a club and an on-field employee in baseball.

Joe Torre devoted several pages of his biography to Kissell. Tim McCarver pays tribute to him during televised games. Earl Weaver said Kissell taught him how to play. Tony La Russa calls him a legend. The number of players and former players who credit Kissell for their success is immeasurable. Those who play the game treat Kissell like fans treat Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax. To them, he is the greatest baseball teacher of all-time.

"He knows theentiregame," said La Russa in an interview a decade ago.

Kissell's legacy began on the ball fields in Evans Mills, and he graduated from Evans Mills High School in 1938. He became a baseball and soccer standout at Ithaca College and was inducted into the college's hall of fame in 1970.

After signing with the Cardinals, he hit .351 as an infielder with Hamilton, Ontario. He hit .310 the following year and played for the Class A Rochester Red Wings in 1942. After three years of service in the Navy, he participated in his first major league spring training in 1946 and then continued playing professionally in the Cardinals' minor leagues until 1952, hitting .345 for Hamilton in 1949.

Kissell's coaching career had already begun as he worked as a player-manager during several of those years. He led three teams to championships during the 1950s. In 1957 he started scouting for the Cardinals, and then in 1958 he began running a winter instructional league, a job he held for more than 40 years.

He worked as the Cardinals' third base coach under manager Red Schoendienst from 1969-75 before returning to work in the minor leagues as a roving instructor. In 1971, he and his wife, Ginny, moved from their Sackets Harbor residence to St. Petersburg, Fla., where they still reside. They have two grown children.

Kissell retired as a full-time instructor in 2004. But even at age 87 — he turns 88 in September — he still works as a Cardinals spring training instructor, and his official title is senior field coordinator for player development. A plaque in his honor hangs outside the clubhouse at the Cardinals' complex in Jupiter, Fla.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of the North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All-time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com