P. Patrick McKernan

P. Patrick McKernan is one of the pioneers of minor league baseball. He was President of the Eastern League (AA) from 1974-1982. He was president and general manager of the highly successful Albuquerque Dukes baseball club. "Pat" McKernan is often credited along with Joe Buzas, as keeping the sport of minor league baseball viable pre-Stadium Boom years. He won the John P. McPhail Trophy twice for best minor league executive, making him the only two-time winner. He also won The Sporting News minor league executive of the year on two occasions. He was the head of the AAA expansion committee, placing teams in larger, more populated markets such as Memphis, Sacramento, and Nashville.

Pat garnered national publicity for trying out a female baseball player during the early 1970s, and Bill Veeck once stated that if he were to have another major league team, that Mr. McKernan would be the man he would hire to run the team due to his promotional abilities.

McKernan was immortalized in Roger Kahn's best-selling baseball book, "Seasons in the Sun." An entire chapter featured Pat discussing the future of minor league ball.

In 1979, Pat became president and general manager of the Albuquerque Dukes, the AAA farm club of the Los Angeles Dodgers and thus began a 21-year success streak, both at the gate and on the field.

Pat was known for his early adapation to different styles of promotions. He is credited with giving Myron Noodleman his first break, as he was allowed to perform at 8 consecutive Dukes games in the early nineties to practice his craft, after being denied the request to do so at other ballparks. He is also credited with creating the "Cool Yule" party along with Sen. Pete Domenici to help Albuquerque's disadvantaged youth celebrate Christmas.

Pat was entered in the Congressional Record after his death.

He is a member of the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame, The Albuquerque Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Unico Pittsfield Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named the King of Baseball in 2000.

Pat McKernan died on July 10, 2001.

References

External links

• http://business.highbeam.com/2872/article-1G1-76660841/pat-mckernan-built-albuquerque-baseball
• http://business.highbeam.com/2872/article-1G1-78063958/screen-doors-and-baseball
• http://business.highbeam.com/2872/article-1G1-107011308/we-miss-noodlemans
• http://business.highbeam.com/138798/article-1P3-1379964381/sen-domenici-welcomes-albuquerque-journal-character
• http://books.google.com/books?id=qpoBclbmhZ4C&pg=PA14234&lpg=PA14234&dq=Pat+McKernan+baseball&source=bl&ots=s8wqVPXRsH&sig=i1EsEIRQ1FZtvhAChnotBdyi6KQ&hl=en&ei=JzTCTaGAJ6bZiAL01KSDAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Pat%20McKernan%20baseball&f=false
• http://505life.com/mckernansports/mba
• http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jul/11/local/me-20965http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/2011/06/10/myron-noodleman-got-his-big-break-at-dukes-game.html

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Name	Mackernan, P. Patrick
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Date of death	2001
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