Ed Kenna

Edward Benninghaus Kenna
(The Pitching Poet)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary, Georgetown University, West Virginia University
• Debut May 5, 1902
• Final Game May 9, 1902
• Born October 17, 1877 in Charleston, WV USA
• Died March 22, 1912 in Grant, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ed "The Pitching Poet" Kenna pitched in the majors in 1902. He wrote rhymes while in the clubhouse, leading Charles Dryden to write that Kenna "may be long on meter but he pitches ragtime". He was the son of Senate minority leader John Edward Kenna..

He is not to be confused with Eddie "Scrap Iron" Kenna, a catcher.

The Pitching Poet was involved in an accident in Kansas City on September 1, 1905 along with some other Louisville players when a trolley car smashed into the wagon in which they were riding to the ballpark. He was one of the most seriously injured, with broken ribs, a hurt arm, a lacerated face and the possibility that he would lose his eye. Source: The American Association Almanac, which also stated that Kenna was an editor of the Charleston (WV) Gazette when he died of heart failure at age 34. Like the son, the father also died young (at age 44).

The Pitching Poet pitched in the minors from at least 1900-07. He was at Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary in 1895-98, and apparently at West Virginia University in 1901.

Kenna's middle name, "Benninghaus", was the last name of his mother, Anne Benninghaus.

Hi brother, John Kenna Jr., pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts in 1909 and the Worcester Busters in 1910.

Related Sites

• Ed Kenna at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily story on Ed Kenna