| George Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly in 1920 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1895-09-10)September 10, 1895 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: October 13, 1984(1984-10-13) (aged 89) Burlingame, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 18, 1915, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 27, 1932, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .297 |
| Home runs | 148 |
| Runs batted in | 1,020 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1973 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
George Lange Kelly (September 10, 1895 – October 13, 1984), nicknamed "Long George" and "High Pockets",[1][2] was an American professionalbaseballfirst baseman. He played most of hisMajor League Baseball (MLB) career for theNew York Giants (1915–1917, 1919–1926), but also played for thePittsburgh Pirates (1917),Cincinnati Reds (1927–1930),Chicago Cubs (1930), andBrooklyn Dodgers (1932). Kelly threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as a lanky 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall—the source of his nicknames—and 190 pounds (86 kg).
Kelly was a two-time World Series champion (1921 and1922). He led theNational League inhome runs once (1921) andruns batted in twice (1920 and1924), and was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1973. However, his selection is regarded as controversial, as many believe he was undeserving of the recognition and was only elected by theVeterans Committee because it consisted of his former teammates.[3][4][5][6]
Kelly began his professional career for theVictoria Bees of the Class-BNorthwestern League in 1914 and 1915.[7] During the1915 season, he was purchased by theNew York Giants from Victoria for $1,200 (equal to $37,299 today).[1] The Giants were rebuilding their team, and they saw Kelly as a possible replacement forFred Merkle.[2] However, he played sparingly for the Giants in his first MLB seasons, appearing in only 17 games in 1915 and 49 games in1916. He was selected offwaivers by thePittsburgh Pirates on July 25, 1917, to back upHonus Wagner, but did not hit sufficiently.[2] The Pirates waived Kelly, and he was reclaimed by the Giants from the Pirates on August 4, 1917.[1] The Giantsoptioned Kelly to theRochester Hustlers of the Class-AAInternational League, where he played the rest of the 1917 season.[7] Kelly did not play professionally in 1918 due to his military service.[2] The Giants sold Kelly to Rochester before the 1919 season to acquireEarl Smith.[8][9]
Finding success in Rochester, Kelly was purchased by the Giants in 1919 whenHal Chase was suspended.[2] He became a regular in the Giants line-up in1920, when he had a league-leading 94runs batted in (RBI).[1] He led the league inassists andputouts in 1920 and 1921; his 1,759 putouts in 1920 remains a league record.[2] Kelly batted in 100 or more runs for four consecutive seasons and hit for abatting average of .300 or higher six consecutive seasons.[1] He opened the 1921 season with at least onehit and one RBI in eight consecutive games, a record that stood until it was broken byJorge Cantú in 2010.[10] The Giants appeared in theWorld Series in1921,1922,1923, and1924, winning in 1921 and 1922. Kelly set aNational League record with sevenhome runs in six consecutive games in 1924, which has since been matched byGraig Nettles,Walker Cooper, andWillie Mays.[11]
In the final series of the 1924 season, the Giants were playing thePhiladelphia Phillies at thePolo Grounds and battling for the pennant with theBrooklyn Dodgers.Jimmy O'Connell offered Phillies shortstopHeinie Sand $500 tointentionally lose the games. Sand rejected the bribe and reported it to Phillies managerArt Fletcher. It eventually led to the lifetime suspension of O'Connell and Giants coachCozy Dolan by CommissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis. O'Connell implicated Kelly,Frankie Frisch, andRoss Youngs as co-conspirators.[12] However, Commissioner Landis cleared Kelly, Frisch, and Youngs of any wrongdoing.[13]
That following offseason, Kelly,Sam Bohne, and otherMajor League Baseball (MLB) players agreed to play professionalbasketball with O'Connell.[14]National League (NL) presidentJohn Heydler insisted that anyone who played with O'Connell could be suspended.[15] The Giants were also displeased with Kelly's arrangement, as they were concerned about the chance he could injure himself in non-baseball activity.[14] However, Kelly had not played in any games at that point. He was removed from the roster and thus avoided suspension by MLB.[16]
Kelly, naturally a first baseman, saw regular time as asecond baseman in 1925 when Frisch injured his hand, while backupBill Terry began playing first base.[2] With the emergence of Terry, who requested a trade so that he could receive more playing time,[17] and GiantsmanagerJohn McGraw desiring an improvement in theoutfield, Kelly was traded to theCincinnati Reds prior to the1927 season forEdd Roush.[18] The Reds traded Roush due to a contract dispute.[19] WithWally Pipp at first base for the Reds, Kelly was slated to playcenter field.[20] The Reds released Pipp before the 1929 season, and Kelly returned to first base.[21]
Kelly was released by the Reds on July 10, 1930, and signed by the minor-leagueMinneapolis Millers of the Class-AAAmerican Association.[1] The Millers traded Kelly to theChicago Cubs forMal Moss and aplayer to be named later (Chick Tolson) late in the 1930 season to fill in for the injuredCharlie Grimm.[2] Kelly was released by the Cubs in February 1931.[1] He returned to the Millers for the1931 season, and participated in a tour of Japan along with Frisch,Lou Gehrig,Mickey Cochrane,Al Simmons,Lefty Grove, andRabbit Maranville, among others.[22]
In April 1932, the Millers traded Kelly to theBrooklyn Dodgers forPea Ridge Day.[1] With the Dodgers, he filled in for the injuredDel Bissonette.[8] Kelly played his final MLB game on July 27, 1932.[1] He returned to the International League to finish the 1932 season with theJersey City Skeeters, and played the 1933 season for theOakland Oaks of thePacific Coast League before retiring.[7]
In 1,622 games over 16 seasons, Kelly posted a .297batting average (1,778-for-5,993) with 819runs, 337doubles, 76triples, 148home runs, 1,020RBI, 65stolen bases, 386bases on balls, a .342on-base percentage, and a .452slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .992fielding percentage at first base, his primary position, and a .991 fielding percentage overall playing also at second base and all three outfield positions. In 26 World Series games from 1921 to 1924, he batted .248 (25-for-101) with 11 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 11 RBI, and 5 walks.[1]
Kelly was known as an excellent defensive first baseman. His positioning and footwork on hits to the outfield became the standard method for teaching future first basemen to handle relays.[2] Frisch considered Kelly the finest first baseman he had seen.[23]
Kelly also had a reputation as aclutch hitter. McGraw said there was no player he preferred to have bat in a big situation.[2]Waite Hoyt considered him dangerous in clutch situations.[23]
His arm was so tremendous that he was directed to be the relay man on throws from the outfield. His arm was better, in fact, than any of today's players I can think of.
To be inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame, a player must receive at least 75% of the vote from theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) or theVeterans Committee.[4] Kelly was on the BBWAA ballot seven times, never coming close to being elected, and never garnering more than 1.9% of the vote. By year, voting results for Kelly were:1947 (one vote, 0.6%),1948 (two votes, 1.7%),1949 (one vote, 0.7%),1956 (two votes, 1.0%),1958 (two votes, 0.8%),1960 (five votes, 1.9%), and1962 (two votes, 0.6%). Despite the lack of support from the BBWAA, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in1973 by theVeterans Committee.[23] At the time of Kelly's election, the writers' ballot was voted on by approximately 400 writers, while the Veterans Committee had a membership of 12 former players and executives.[4]
The selection of Kelly was controversial, as many felt Kelly was not worthy of enshrinement in the Hall.[3] According to the BBWAA, the Veterans Committee was not selective enough in choosing members.[4] Charges of cronyism were levied against the Veterans Committee.[5] When Kelly was elected, the Veterans Committee included two of his former teammates,Bill Terry andFrankie Frisch, who also shepherded the selections of teammatesJesse Haines in1970,Dave Bancroft andChick Hafey in1971,Ross Youngs in1972,Jim Bottomley in1974, andFreddie Lindstrom in1976.[24] This led to the Veterans Committee having its powers reduced in subsequent years.[3] In 2001, baseball historianBill James, while ranking Kelly as the 65th greatest first baseman of all time, also cited Kelly as the worst player in the Hall of Fame.[6]
Kelly served as acoach for theCincinnati Reds, managed by former teammateChuck Dressen, from 1935 to 1937.[2] Former teammateCasey Stengel hired Kelly to coach theBoston Braves from 1938 to 1943.[2] He returned to the Reds' coaching staff in 1947 and 1948.[25] He coached theOakland Oaks of thePacific Coast League in 1949.[25] In 1954, Kelly managed the independentWenatchee Chiefs in theWestern International League.[7]
A native San Franciscan, Kelly remained in theSan Francisco Bay Area, living inMillbrae, California, following his playing career.[25] Kelly's brother,Ren Kelly, uncle,Bill Lange, and cousin,Rich Chiles, also played in MLB.[25]
Kelly suffered astroke on October 5, 1984, and died on October 13 at Peninsula Hospital inBurlingame, California.[26] He is interred at theHoly Cross Cemetery inColma, California.[1] He was the last surviving member of the 1921 and 1922 world champion New York Giants.
Milwaukee was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
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