Michael Joseph Kelley (December 2, 1875 – June 6, 1955) was an American

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), ...

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 ...

. He played one season in the majors 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 ...

. He then forged a 30-year career as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

and became a legendary figure in the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis–St. Paul.

Major League career

Born in

Templeton, Massachusetts Templeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,149 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four main villages: Templeton Center, East Templeton, Baldwinville, and Otter River. Geography According to ...

, Kelley played only one season in the Major Leagues, with the 1899 Louisville Colonels of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. A right-handed hitter and thrower, he appeared in 76 games that season, and he batted .241 with three

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 ...

and had 33

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. At the end of the season, the NL shrunk from 12 to eight teams and the Colonels were disbanded. Many Louisville players were acquired by the surviving

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, but Kelley returned to the minors.

Minor league career

By , he was managing

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

in the Western League, and the following season he was named pilot of the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

, where he won back-to-back pennants in –. Apart from 4½ seasons, Kelley managed in the Twin Cities through . He coached the

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

team for nearly 18 seasons (1902–05; August 1908 – 1912; 1915–23), where he won five championships. His Saints won 115 games, the 1922 team notched 107 victories – each time winning the pennant – and his 1923 club won 111 games while finishing second, two games behind the Kansas City Blues. Kelley first managed the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

for one season (). At the close of the season, he purchased the Millers and became their manager. He led the Millers through 1931, but never won a pennant; his highest finish was second, to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, in 1928. After a sixth-place finish in '31, he retired to the club presidency, operating the Millers until he sold them to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in . His over-all record in his 30 years as a minor league was 2,390 wins and 2,102 losses for a .532 winning percentage.Lloyd Johnson, ed., ''The Minor League Register.'' Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1994.

Post-career

Kelley died at the age of 79 in Minneapolis, and is interred at Lakewood Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Mike 1875 births 1955 deaths 19th-century baseball players Augusta Kennebecs players Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Baseball players from Massachusetts Baseball coaches from Minnesota Baseball players from Minneapolis Des Moines Champs players Hartford Indians players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians managers Louisville Colonels players Major League Baseball first basemen Minneapolis Millers (baseball) managers Newport Colts players Ottawa Wanderers players People from Templeton, Massachusetts Rochester Patriots players Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts St. Paul Saints (AA) managers St. Paul Saints (AA) players Sports coaches from Minneapolis Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players