Walter Joseph Kellner (April 26, 1929 – June 19, 2006) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an eight-year professional career, and played three games in the Major Leagues for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

between and . Kellner, tall and weighing during his career, batted and threw right-handed. Kellner signed with the Athletics as an amateur free agent in . He started out with Lincoln in the Western League, winning three games and losing fourteen in his first pro season. He served in the military in and part of 1952, but returned to baseball late in 1952 and debuted with Philadelphia on September 6 of that year. In his very first game, he picked up a save, facing 19 batters over four

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

and giving up four hits and three runs. He played two more games the following year, allowing one hit and two runs over three innings. Kellner played several more years in the minors before retiring in . He died in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, on June 19, 2006.

Family

The last of three sons (four children) of John Justus and Julietta (Garcia) Kellner, in Tucson, Arizona. His paternal great-grandfather, Johann Justus Kellner, a German immigrant, had arrived in central Texas in 1845.
"His paternal great-grandfather, Johann Justus Kellner, a German immigrant." His older brother, Alex Kellner, Alex, also was a major league pitcher. The two were teammates in 1952 and 1953.

References

*Obituary, ''Sports Collectors Digest'', Krause Publications, November 10, 2006.
Baseball Almanac
;Specific 1929 births 2006 deaths American people of German descent Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball players from Tucson, Arizona Columbus Jets players Denver Bears players Lincoln A's players Major League Baseball pitchers Mobile Bears players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Oklahoma City Indians players Ottawa A's players Philadelphia Athletics players Reading Indians players San Antonio Missions players Savannah A's players Williamsport A's players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub