Johnny Klippstein

John Calvin Klippstein

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Montgomery Blair High School
• Debut May 3, 1950
• Final Game May 27, 1967
• Born October 17, 1927 in Washington, DC USA
• Died October 10, 2003 in Elgin, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Johnny Klippstein had a long major league career (18 years) as a pitcher. While in his 20's, he had frequent starts although he was never exclusively a starter; in his 30's, he became almost exclusively a reliever, saving as many as 14 games in a season (that was in 1960, when he led the American League in saves). In total, he had 101 wins and 66 saves.

Klippstein pitched for eight different major league teams and seemed to get better with age, posting excellent relief seasons at ages 35, 36, and 37.

He was in two World Series, the first in 1959 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the second in 1965 with the Minnesota Twins against the Dodgers. He gave up no earned runs in either Series.

He was nicknamed "The Wild Man of Borneo" (presumably after the 1941 movie) because of his control problems. He ranks # 97 on the all-time list for the most wild pitches (as of 2007), and several times was among the leaders in hit batsmen, leading the National League in 1956.

Klippstein missed the 1946 season due to military service.

Notable Achievements

• AL Saves Leader (1960)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1952 & 1956)
• Won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959

Further Reading

• Gregory H. Wolf: "Johnny Klippstein", in Mel Marmer and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The Year of Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2013, pp. 140-145. ISBN 978-1-933599-51-9
• Gregory H. Wolf: "Johnny Klippstein", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: A Pennant for the Twin Cities: the 1965 Minnesota Twins, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 133-138. ISBN 978-1-943816-09-5

Related Sites

• Johnny Klippstein at the SABR Bio Project