$heriff Tom
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Groom ba ya ya ya
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Post by $heriff Tom on Feb 20, 2007 20:33:50 GMT -5
Hall of Famer George Kell, 84, was cited over the weekend for a hit-and-run after a 3 car crash in Jonesboro, Ark. No one was hurt, thankfully, especially him. Hittin' and runnin' usually means drinkin' and drivin' At 84, he should be at home, feting guests who wish to come and hear him regale them with tales of his fantastic playing and broadcasting career.  |
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Post by Jason Giambi on Feb 20, 2007 21:43:38 GMT -5
i'm almost ashamed I sponsored his page
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MSBNYY
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El Guapo
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Post by MSBNYY on Feb 21, 2007 12:49:18 GMT -5
You'd never see such behavior out of Claudell Washington.
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$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
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Post by $heriff Tom on Feb 21, 2007 12:58:27 GMT -5
I forgive him.
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$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
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Post by $heriff Tom on Mar 24, 2009 11:36:07 GMT -5
George Kell has died.
Im very sad.
More on this after lunch.
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$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
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Post by $heriff Tom on Mar 24, 2009 11:38:12 GMT -5
 Hall of Fame third baseman George Kell, a career .306 hitter over 15 seasons, died in his sleep in Swifton, Ark., early Tuesday morning, television station KAIT in Jonesboro, Ark., reported.
Kell was regarded as one of the game's best third basemen during the 1940s and 1950s, playing in the American League with the Philadelphia Athletics (1943-1946), Detroit Tigers (1946-52), Boston Red Sox (1952-54), Chicago White Sox (1954-56) and Baltimore Orioles (1956-57).
A 10-time All-Star, Kell batted above .300 nine times and also was a top fielder, leading the league in fielding percentage seven times.
Kell also led the AL in batting average in 1949, while with the Tigers, denying fellow Hall of Famer Ted Williams of his third Triple Crown. Kell narrowly beat out Williams with a .3429 average, just a hair better than Williams' .3427. Kell also struck out just 13 times that season, the lowest total for a batting champion in baseball history.
Over his career, Kell hit 78 home runs and recorded 870 RBIs, along with 881 runs scored and 2,054 hits. He also had 385 doubles, 50 triples, stole 51 bases and a slugging percentage of .414, and he drew 621 walks, for a .367 on-base percentage.
After his playing career, Kell served as a broadcast announcer for the Orioles (1957), CBS television (1958), NBC radio (1962) and the Tigers (1959-1996). He was joined by fellow Hall of Famer Al Kaline in the broadcast booth from 1975 until his retirement in 1996.
Kell was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 by the Veterans Committee. |
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Post by Jason Giambi on Mar 24, 2009 12:10:11 GMT -5
RIP George Kell, Honorary favorite of myself and others..... I remember his name coming up like 4 years ago on the other board.... and laughing about him. RIP George.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Mar 26, 2009 12:37:00 GMT -5
So I am reading George's book, which is now up to $15 used on Amazon, as people try to cash in on the dead.  You can tell from reading he was a kind and genial man. Not a bad word to say about anyone. Went to Church every Sunday in his life, pretty much. Set up shop in his childhood hometown of Swifton, Ark, where he died in his childhood home. Adored Connie Mack, who he would only call Mr. Mack. Loved to read, especially books about history. Did not touch alcohol until he had his first beer at 30 years old. Tragically lost his brother Frank, who had major league potential, just after WWII ended, where he was killed in peacetime in what is thought to have been "an act of sabotage." I have just passed to the point where he was traded to the Tigers, after 2 years playing for "Mr Mack" - who, according to George, would use "horsefeathers" or "my, my" instead of curse words. I am enjoying this trip back in time with Mr Kell. I hope he is resting easy. |
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Post by Jason Giambi on Mar 26, 2009 13:02:17 GMT -5
you need to open up a library...... sounds like a good book.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Apr 1, 2009 12:41:19 GMT -5
Ill tell you one thing about George Kell, he was passionate about his views, and outraged at the racism around MLB before, and leading into his major league tenure.
To wit, from his book -
"Baseball must accept responsibility for diluting its quality through a concious decision of its own, however. In fact, today we look back and wonder why it ever took so long to allow black players to take their proper place in the major leagues. Even to this day I am SHOCKED that somebody along the way did not have the guts to stand up and say that it is FLAT OUT WRONG not to let a man play major league baseball because of the color of his skin. Thats unforgivable! There is no excuse that can ever justify this sin.
Now there are black ball players i dont particularly like. I feel the same way about a lot of white ball players. That has absolutely nothing to do with the color of a man's skin, though. A fool is a fool wheter he's white, black, green, or purple.
If John Gibson had been half as good as people say he was, we might have missed out on THE GREATEST player in history."
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