Archie Richard "Happy" or "Hap" McKain (May 12, 1911 – May 21, 1985) was a left-handed
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
,
Detroit Tigers and the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
between 1937 and 1943.
McKain was born in
Delphos, Kansas, in 1911.
He began playing professional baseball in 1930 with the
Pueblo Braves in the Western League. In his second season, he compiled an 18-12 record for the Braves with a 3.86
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA).
He advanced to AA baseball with the
Louisville Colonels
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
of the American Association. His performance dropped in 1931 as he compiled a 9-19 record. He remained with Louisville until 1935 when he joined the Minneapolis Millers.
[
McKain made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 1937. In two seasons with Boston, he compiled a 13-12 record and a 4.60 ERA.][
McKain was traded to the Tigers with ]Pinky Higgins
Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins (May 27, 1909 – March 21, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three te