Richard Anthony Kelley (January 8, 1940 – December 11, 1991) 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. A 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 ...

, Kelley's career extended for 14 seasons, and he spent all or parts of seven years in

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), ...

as a member of the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. The native of

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a Municipal annexation in the United States, former town and current Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of ...

, attended Saint Columbkille's High School. He stood and weighed during his playing career. He pitched in 188 Major League games between 1964 and 1969 and in 1971, 61 as a starter. In , as an original member of the

, acquired during the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion ...

, he started 23 games, fourth most on the club. Overall, Kelley won 18 of 48 decisions (.375) in MLB, with five

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

and five saves and an

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 ...

of 3.39. He had a 69–45 (.605) record in minor league baseball, including a stellar 11–2 mark and 2.16 ERA in 14 starts in the Triple-A

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

in 1965. Kelley retired as an active player after the 1972 season, and died in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the comm ...

, at the age of 51.

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1940 births 1991 deaths Atlanta Braves players Atlanta Crackers players Austin Senators players Baseball players from Boston Boise Braves players Cedar Rapids Braves players Denver Bears players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves players Richmond Braves players Salt Lake City Bees players San Diego Padres players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub