William Partlemore Kirk (July 19, 1934 – October 26, 2009) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. His career extended from 1954–1956 and 1959–1964, but the , left-handed

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 ...

made only one Major League appearance for the Kansas City Athletics during the season.The Dead Ball Era
Kirk signed a Major League contract with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

in 1954. That year, he registered a 12–9

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

with a 3.32

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

for Class D

Welch Miners The Welch Miners were a Minor League Baseball team based in Welch, West Virginia. The team operated from 1937 through 1942 in the Mountain State League and in the Appalachian League from 1946 to 1955. Over the course of nineteen seasons, the Wel ...

. Kirk stayed with the Athletics when the team moved to Kansas City in 1955, pitching for six minor league teams before being promoted to the majors late in the 1961 season. While playing for Class-A

Lancaster Red Roses The Lancaster Red Roses baseball team, originally known as the Maroons, changed its name at the start of the 1906 season during a bitter match with the York, Pennsylvania-based White Roses. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named fo ...

, he had pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

Stumpf Field Stumpf Field is a baseball-only stadium in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania that opened in 1938. It was built as the home of the Lancaster Red Roses baseball team, who played in the Interstate, Piedmont, and Eastern Leagues through 1961. The ballp ...

in July 1960. Kirk's lone MLB appearance came as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

on September 23, 1961, facing the visiting

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

at Municipal Stadium. He gave up four earned runs on six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

, while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

three in three

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

of work, giving up

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

to Chuck Essegian and

Johnny Romano John Anthony Romano Jr. (August 23, 1934 – February 24, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1958–1959, 1965–1966), Cleveland Indians (1960–1964) ...

. Kirk did not take the loss (that went to

Dave Wickersham David Clifford Wickersham (September 27, 1935 – June 18, 2022) was an American baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Ka ...

in a 9–5 Cleveland triumph), but never appeared in a major league game again. In 1964, Kirk pitched and coached for Class-A York White Roses. It was his last baseball venture in a career that spanned 11 years.Minor league statistics
from

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

Following his playing career, Kirk worked as an advertising and marketing executive. Bill Kirk died in

Lititz, Pennsylvania Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...

, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Baseball ReferenceBR minor leaguesObituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Bill 1934 births 2009 deaths Albany Senators players Chattanooga Lookouts players El Paso Texans players Hot Springs Bathers players Kansas City Athletics players Lancaster Red Roses players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Baseball players from York County, Pennsylvania Pocatello Bannocks players Portland Beavers players Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players Shreveport Sports players Welch Miners players York White Roses players People from Coatesville, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Chester County, Pennsylvania