William Aulton Kennedy (March 14, 1921 – April 9, 1983), nicknamed "Lefty", was a pitcher for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) between 1948 and 1957.

Biography

Kennedy was born in

Carnesville, Georgia Carnesville is a city in Franklin County, Georgia, Franklin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, and the county seat. Located in the center of Franklin County in northeastern Georgia, approximately from Atlanta, Carnesville had ...

. Signed before the 1939 season as an amateur free agent by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, Kennedy pitched three seasons in the low minors without much distinction before missing the 1943–45 seasons while serving in the U.S. Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Returning to baseball in 1946, Kennedy put together one of the greatest pitching seasons in minor league history for the Rocky Mount Rocks in the Class-D

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

. The 25-year-old went 28–3 with a 1.03 ERA over 41 games, striking out a staggering 456 batters in 280.0 innings—the second-highest single-season strikeout total in professional baseball history. Following the season he was sent to the

and he spent 1947 with Boston's affiliate at Class-A

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. Though he struck out just 113 batters, he followed up his historic campaign with a 15-2 campaign record and a 2.62 ERA. After being left unprotected that winter, the Cleveland Indians selected him in the

Rule 5 Draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, which led him breaking camp with the Cleveland Indians to open the 1948 season, making his MLB debut on April 26 at the age of 27. However, after just six ineffective outings he was traded to the St. Louis Browns for pitcher

Sam Zoldak Samuel Walter Zoldak, nicknamed Sad Sam, (December 8, 1918 – August 25, 1966) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons in the American League with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland ...

, missing out an opportunity to play in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, which the Indians won. After pitching most of 1948 and all of 1949 in St. Louis, he spent nearly all of 1950 and part of 1951 in the minors. In March 1952, Kennedy was purchased by the Chicago White Sox, ending his four-year tenure with the Browns at a 12–24 record with a 4.84 ERA. Pitching on a winning team, he went on to record the best season of his career working almost exclusively in relief for the first time in his career. Kennedy notched a career-best 2.80 ERA over 70.2 innings, notching five saves and leading the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in games pitched with 47. Despite his success in Chicago, that winter he was packaged with pitcher

Marv Grissom Marvin Edward Grissom (March 31, 1918 – September 19, 2005) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. During his active career he appeared in 356 games in Major League Baseball for the New York / San Francisco Giants ...

in a trade to the Boston Red Sox for shortstop

Vern Stephens Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 4, 1968) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through . An eight-time All-Star, Stephens was notable for being the American L ...

. Alas, the trade failed to work out for either side; Stephens and Grissom were both dealt again by mid-season, and Kennedy was demoted to the minors, where he stayed for the remainder of the 1953 season and all of 1954 and '55. In 1955 Kennedy moved to the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, pitching for the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

. Successful seasons in 1956 and '57 led to call-ups from the Cincinnati Reds, but he was ineffective, appearing in a combined nine MLB games over those two seasons and posting a 7.98 ERA. He made his last MLB appearance on September 29, 1957, at the age of 36. He pitched three more seasons in the PCL before retiring following the 1960 season at the age of 39. In eight major league seasons, he had a 15–28 win–loss record, 172 games pitched (45 starts), 11 saves, 256 strikeouts and a 4.73

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). He won an additional 149 games in 15 seasons in the minors. Kennedy died in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

at the age of 62.

References

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Bill 1921 births 1983 deaths Akron Yankees players Amsterdam Rugmakers players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Boston Red Sox players Butler Yankees players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from lung cancer in Washington (state) Easton Yankees players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Portland Beavers players Rocky Mount Leafs players Rocky Mount Rocks players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Santa Marta (baseball club) players Scranton Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players People from Carnesville, Georgia United States Army personnel of World War II

Biography

See also

References

External links