Judson Fabian Kirke (June 16, 1888 – August 31, 1968) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. Kirke played baseball locally around

Fleischmanns, New York Fleischmanns is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 351 at the 2010 census. The Village of Fleischmanns is within the town of Middletown and is named after Charles Louis Fleischmann, a Hungarian manufactu ...

before signing with the

Kingston Colonials The Kingston Colonials were an American basketball team based in Kingston, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League. During the 1939/40 season, the team was merged into the Troy Celtics The Troy Haymakers were an American ...

of the Hudson River League and thereafter progressing through the minor leagues. He played 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), ...

(MLB) from 1910 through 1918 for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Rustlers / Braves, Cleveland Naps / Indians, and New York Giants. In 1,148 big league at bats, Kirke had a solid career batting average of .301 while playing seven different positions, primarily first base. Kirke enjoyed a long minor league career after his final stint in the big leagues with the New York Giants. While playing in the minor leagues 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 ...

with

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

, Kirke told McCarthy that, as a player, McCarthy did not "look so good" to his fellow ballplayers. McCarthy credited Kirke's remark with inspiring him to quit playing and focus instead on managing. McCarthy would go on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager. After a long and successful career as both a minor league player and manager, Kirke moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

while his son, Judson, played and managed in the minors.

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1888 births 1968 deaths Baseball players from New York (state) Beaumont Exporters players Binghamton Bingoes players Boston Braves players Boston Rustlers players Cleveland Bearcats players Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Naps players Cleveland Spiders (minor league) players Decatur Commodores players Detroit Tigers players Elmira Colonels players Fort Worth Panthers players Gloversville-Johnstown Jags players Indianapolis Indians players Kingston Colonials players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers New York Giants (NL) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Opelousas Indians players People from Delaware County, New York Poughkeepsie Colts players Scranton Miners players Shreveport Sports players Toledo Mud Hens players Wheeling Stogies players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Wilmington Peaches players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1880s-stub