John Young, founder of baseball's RBI program, dies at 67

NEW YORK (AP) John Young, the founder of a baseball youth program that has served thousands across North America and the Caribbean, has died. He 67.

His death was announced Monday by Major League Baseball, which provided no details.

Young was an executive, scouting director and briefly a major league player. In 1989, he started Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities, known as the RBI program.

Two years later, MLB assumed its operations. The program aims to increase participation in baseball and promote minority inclusion. It serves more than 230,000 youngsters in 200 cities. Commissioner Rob Manfred lauded Young as a ''trailblazer and champion of both professional and youth baseball.''

Young became the first African-American scouting director when hired by the Detroit Tigers in 1981. He scouted for several clubs and signed 21 future big leaguers to their first pro contract. In 1971, he played two games for the Tigers.