Thornton John Kipper (September 27, 1928 – March 29, 2006) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1953 through 1955 for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Listed at , , Kipper batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Bagley, Wisconsin and attended Bagley High School. A standout pitcher in college, Kipper spent one year (1946) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before joining the U.S. Navy during peacetime. After being discharged in 1948, he returned to school and played for the UW team from 1949 to 1950. In that last season he posted an 11–1 record, and later went 5–0 in the Big Ten Conference. He also recorded two victories during the

1950 College World Series The College World Series was the fourth NCAA-sanctioned baseball tournament that determined a national champion. The tournament was held as the conclusion of the 1950 NCAA baseball season and was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb ...

and made the All-Star team. Together with catcher Bob Wilson, Kipper formed one of the Big Ten Conference's top batteries. Dynie Mansfield was Kipper's college coach and mentor. After graduating in 1951, Kipper was signed by the Phillies. In a three-season career, he went 3–4 with 35

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and a 5.27 ERA in 55 appearances, including three starts, one save, and 99.0

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

of work. Following his majors career, Kipper pitched in the Kansas City Athletics minor league system. He also played for the

Magallanes Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallane ...

team of the Venezuelan Winter League (1953–54) and in the

1954 Caribbean Series The sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba ( Alacranes del Almendares), Panama (Carta Vieja Yankees), P ...

. After retirement from baseball, he ran a pizza business out of Scottsdale, Arizona. Kipper died in Scottadale at age 77.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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East Valley Tribune - Paying tribute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kipper, Thornton 1928 births 2006 deaths Baseball players from Wisconsin Lácteos de Pastora players Lewiston Broncs players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (IL) players People from Grant County, Wisconsin Philadelphia Phillies players Schenectady Blue Jays players Syracuse Chiefs players Terre Haute Phillies players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Utica Blue Sox players Wisconsin Badgers baseball players United States Navy sailors