Robert Francis Keefe (June 16, 1882 – December 6, 1964) was an American pitcher in professional baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Highlanders and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Baseball career

Keefe was born in

Folsom, California Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is commonly known for Folsom State Prison, the song "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash, as well as for Folsom Lake. The population was 80,454 at the 2020 census. Folsom is pa ...

, in 1882."Bobby Keefe Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021. In 1902, he graduated from

Santa Clara College Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

, where he was a star pitcher. Keefe started his professional baseball career with the Sacramento Senators in 1903, the first year of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL). The following year, the Sacramento franchise moved to Tacoma, Washington, and Keefe spent two seasons with the Tacoma Tigers. In 1904, he had 438.2 innings pitched, a win–loss record of 34–15, and a 2.40 earned run average (ERA). He had the second-most wins in the PCL and helped the Tigers win the league championship. In 1905, Keefe had 468.2 innings pitched and went 30–22 with a 1.61 ERA. He had the second-most wins in the PCL again."Bobby Keefe Independent & Minor Leagues Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021. Keefe then played for the Montreal Royals of the Eastern League from 1906 to 1910. In 1907, he also played for the American League's New York Highlanders. Keefe had 57.2 innings pitched, a 3–5 record, and a 2.50 ERA during his first major league season. In 1911, Keefe made it back to the majors with the National League's Cincinnati Reds. He had his best season in MLB in 1911, going 12–13 with a 2.69 ERA in 234.1 innings pitched. The following year, he went 1–3 with a 5.24 ERA in 68.2 innings pitched and never played in the majors again. Keefe played in the minor leagues from 1913 to 1915 and again in 1921 before leaving professional baseball.

Later life

While playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Keefe met Margaret Carroll, who later became his wife. The couple raised four children: Helen Roberta Keefe, Carol B. Keefe, Robert Gael Keefe, and John Franklin Keefe. After his baseball career ended, Keefe returned to the Folsom area, where he worked for the Natomas Gold Dredging Company. He later became the county assessor for East Sacramento County. For several years, he was in charge of the water system for the Folsom area. In his last years before retirement, Keefe was also the postmaster of Folsom. He retired to the

Land Park Land Park is a neighborhood in the city of Sacramento. Land Park consists of mainly single-family dwellings in the area between Interstate 5 to the west, Broadway to the north, Sutterville Road to the south and Freeport Blvd to the east. William ...

area of Sacramento. Keefe died in 1964.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keefe, Bobby 1882 births 1964 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players New York Highlanders players Sacramento Senators players Tacoma Tigers players Montreal Royals players Rochester Hustlers players Portland Beavers players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Baseball players from California People from Folsom, California