Ellis Kinder

Ellis Raymond Kinder
(Old Folks, Kinny, Old Granddad)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.

• Debut April 30, 1946
• Final Game May 8, 1957
• Born July 26, 1914 in Atkins, AR USA
• Died October 16, 1968 in Jackson, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ellis Kinder pitched 20 seasons in organized baseball, from 1936 to 1957, 12 in the major leagues and 9 in the minors, losing one year to the Military (1945) and another to suspension while in the minor leagues (1943). He served in the Armed Forces for one year during World War II (BN).

Although Kinder spent 12 years in the majors, he didn't make his debut until he was nearly 32 years old. Kinder pitched for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox from 1946 to 1957. He set the American League record for most consecutive games pitched, none complete, in 1953 (69). He broke the American League record for most games pitched that same year, a record that had been set way back in 1908 when Ed Walsh - who was mainly a starting pitcher - pitched 66 times for the Chicago White Sox. Both records have long since been broken, as he was mainly a precursor of a new type of reliever usage. He was named top American League pitcher by the Sporting News in 1949, when he went 23-6 with a 3.36 ERA for the Red Sox, back when he was still a starting pitcher.

He worked at various jobs - as a housepainter, taxicab driver and repairman. He died at age 54 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, TN from complications three weeks after undergoing open heart heart surgery and is buried at Highland Memorial Gardens in Jackson, TN.

Notable Achievements

• AL Winning Percentage Leader (1949)
• 2-time AL Games Pitched Leader (1951 & 1953)
• 2-time AL Saves Leader (1951 & 1953)
• AL Shutouts Leader (1949)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1949)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1949)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons; 2 (1949 & 1950)

Further Reading

• Mark Armour: "Ellis Kinder", in Mark Armour and Bill Nowlin, eds.: Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 69-76. ISBN 978-1933599243
• Lew Freedman: "Ellis Kinder", in The 50 Greatest Players in Boston Red Sox History, Camino Books, Inc., Philadelphia, PS, 2013, pp. 168-169. ISBN 978-1933822747
• Bob Holbrook: "Mel Parnell & Ellis Kinder: Double Trouble in the Hub", in Bruce Jacobs, ed.: Baseball Stars of 1950, Lion Books, New York, NY, 1950, pp. 143-151.
• John Steadman: "Back in 1949, Ellis Kinder Lifted a Glass, but Couldn't Hoist Red Sox to Pennant", The Baltimore Sun, June 21, 1995, pp. 1C-. [1]

Related Sites

• Ellis Kinder at the SABR Bio Project