Ken Toothman

Kenneth Eugene Toothman

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.
• Born April 6, 1935
• Died June 13, 2013

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Ken Toothman had a productive 9-year career in the minor leagues, including six years at AAA, but never played a game in the majors. He started off with the 1954 Phoenix Stars and hit .355 with 10 homers, 123 RBI and 193 runs, a record for the Arizona-Texas League. In a high-scoring offensive league, he did not finish in the top 10 in the league in any Triple Crown statistic.

In 1955, Toothman hit .292 in limited action with the Williamsport Grays and .294 for the Waco Pirates. He did very well with the 1956 Lincoln Chiefs (.327/~.427/.544) with 23 HR and 33 SB. He was one steal behind Western League leader Maury Wills and was third in the WL in runs scored as a teammate of 66-homer man Dick Stuart. He was named to the Western League All-Star team at second base. It was the only season he hit more than 13 homers.

1957 had Toothman playing for the Columbus Jets and batting just .241/~.303/.385 in his first crack at AAA. After homering 23 times in '56, he had just 27 extra-base hits altogether in 1957 and stole just 13. With a young Bill Mazeroski establishing himself at second for Pittsburgh, Toothman had little chance at making the majors with that kind of production.

In 1958, Toothman hit .307 for the Salt Lake City Bees. The next year, he batted .271 for Salt Lake City. In '60, he hit .292 for the Bees and Vancouver Mounties. In 1961, he batted .286 for the Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers and was traded to the Hawaii Islanders for Ray Jablonski. With Hawaii, he hit .301. He finished his career in 1962, putting up a .221 average only for the Islanders.

He later worked 40 years in the trucking industry.

Sources: 1957 and 1958 Baseball Guides, The Western League by W.C. Madden and Patrick Stewart, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, Obituary