Thomas “Shaky” Kain had two favorite sports – football and baseball. No problem; throughout his life as player, official, coach, and scout, Kain divided up his time among the two games, like a good father giving equal care to his children. His love of sports blossomed at Nashville’s Hume Fogg High School, where he quarterbacked his team to the city championship in 1922. Kain was also a member of the city basketball champions in 1923, and he finished his senior year as captain of the Hume-Fogg baseball team. At the University of Georgia, Kain was starting fullback from 1924 to 1926, and he was All-Southern in baseball in 1926. After graduating, Kain spent a few years as a football coach in Cuba, before returning to the states in 1930 to play and manage several minor league baseball teams until 1946. From 1948 to 1969, he was a professional baseball scout for the Yankees, Phillies, and Cubs. Throughout these years, he also devoted much energy to his other passion, football, as an SEC official from 1935 to 1963. He was president of the SEC Officials Association in 1949. As an official, Kain worked the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, and the Senior Bowl thirteen straight years, earning the respect of coaches, players, fellow officials, and fans for his fairness and fearlessness. “Shaky” Kain died in 1971. His devotion to football and baseball will always be remembered with fondness in his home state of Tennessee.
