Kyle Graham (August 14, 1899 – December 1, 1973), sometimes known by the nickname "Skinny Graham", was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

. He played professional baseball for eight years from 1923 to 1930, including four seasons 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), ...

for the Boston Braves (1924–1926) and Detroit Tigers (1929). A , 172-pound right-hander, he appeared in 67 major league games, 37 as a starter, and ended his career with an 11–22

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and a 5.02

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).

Early years

Graham was born in

Oak Grove, Alabama Oak Grove is a town in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1966. At the 2020 census, the population was 564. Geography The town of Oak Grove is located at (33.189772, -86.303163). According to the U.S. Census Bureau ...

, in 1899.

Professional baseball

Graham began his professional baseball career in 1923 with the

Little Rock Travelers The Little Rock Travelers were an American minor league baseball team located in Little Rock, Arkansas, and members (1902–1910, 1915–1958, 1960–1961) of the Southern Association, which as a Class A, A1 or Double-A circuit was typically two ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

, appearing in 51 games and compiling a 13–15 record and a 4.37 ERA. In 1924, Graham was acquired by the Boston Braves and made his major league debut on September 3, 1924. He appeared in five games at the end of the 1924 season and compiled an 0–4 record. In 1925, he appeared in a career high 34 games and compiled a 7–12 record with a 4.41 ERA. He appeared in 15 games for the Braves in 1926, compiling a 3–3 record with a 7.93 ERA. He was released by the Braves on July 8, 1926. After his release by the Braves, Graham spent the next three years from 1927 to 1929 playing for the

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

in the Pacific Coast League. In three seasons for the Indians, he compiled a 29–38 record. Late in the 1929 season, Graham returned briefly to the major leagues, appearing in 13 games for the Detroit Tigers. He compiled a 1–3 record with a 5.57 ERA in 51-2/3 innings pitched. He appeared in his final major league game on September 21, 1929. Graham concluded his playing career in 1930 with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in the International League, compiling a 9–4 record with a 4.50 ERA.

Later years

Graham died in 1973 in

, at age 74. He was buried at the Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Skinny 1899 births 1973 deaths People from Talladega County, Alabama Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Braves players Detroit Tigers players Little Rock Travelers players Baseball players from Alabama