Jim Kane Jim Kane ( February 2 , 1937 - January 28 , 2003 ) was a Nebraska high school football , basketball , track and cross country coach , and was named the state ’ s “ Coach of the Year ” in 1983 , and was posthumously named to the state ’ s High School Hall of Fame . Jim “ Killer ” Kane was born in West Point , Nebraska ; but he grew up in Wisner , Nebraska , where Jim became an athlete . He remains the Wisner High School all time leader in points scored in basketball , and led the school ’ s baseball team to a state championship . In 1980 , Nebraska sports historian Jerry Mathers named Kane as Wisner ' s best all around athlete ever . After graduating in 1954 , he attended the University of Nebraska and played for the Cornhuskers ’ baseball team . He earned All - Big Seven Conference recognition as a catcher in 1957 and 1958 before signing with the New York Yankees . Kane played three years in their farm system , but failed to make it to the major leagues because of the presence of Yogi Berra and Elston Howard on the parent squad . Kane was part of a successful pitcher / catcher combination with childhood friend Charles Ziegenbein . They played together through grade school , high school ( it was their battery combination that led Wisner High to its only state high school baseball championship ) and through college at Nebraska ( Ziegenbein would also earn all - Big Seven honors as a pitcher in 1957 - 58 ) . Ziegenbein , too , was signed by the Yankees in 1958 , but did not remain with the organization , opting to pursue a business career instead . Ziegenbein died of cancer in 1972 . Well known for his carousing ways , Kane was released by the Yankees ’ Columbus farm team in 1960 after the parent club felt he was an unwanted influence on his roommates , including future American League rookie of the year Tom Tresh , Joe Pepitone and Tony Kubek . Kane never played professional baseball again . With his professional career over , Kane returned to Nebraska and began teaching at Waterloo ( NE ) High School . After teaching there for two years , he was hired to create from scratch the athletic programs at St . John ’ s Seminary , a small parochial school outside of Elkhorn , Nebraska . Eventually , Kane would coach St . John ’ s ( later renamed Mount Michael Benedictine Abbey and High School ) to two state titles and three runner - up titles in basketball , while achieving a career record of 547 - 263 . In football , Kane led the Knights to two state championships while establishing a career record of 117 - 97 , while Kane coached two state champion teams in cross country and another in track . In 1983 , the Omaha World - Herald named Kane its “ Coach of the Year ” , after his Mount Michael football and basketball teams won state championships that school year . Kane coached and taught at Mount Michael from 1964 to 2003 , where he was legendary for his discipline and intensity . His teams were always well prepared and he was known for getting the most out of his players , who were usually outnumbered and overmatched physically . For instance , his 1990 state championship football team , which finished 11 - 1 , started the year unranked and was picked to lose 8 times by the Omaha World Herald newspaper . Sadly , his early raucous lifestyle caught up with him as he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver , from which he died on January 28 , 2003 at the age of 65 . Kane ' s funeral was in Mount Michael ' s gymnasium , and he was buried in the monastery ' s cemetery . Kane was named to the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 .