Mike Kilkenny

Michael David Kilkenny

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3½", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Bradford District High School
• Debut April 11, 1969
• Final Game May 6, 1973
• Born April 11, 1945 in Bradford, ON CAN
• Died June 28, 2018 in Belmont, ON CAN

BR page

Biographical Information

Mike Kilkenny pitched in the majors between 1969 and 1973, mostly for the Detroit Tigers. He was ten years younger than Tigers teammate Al Kaline. His best season was as a rookie, when he went 8-6 with a 3.37 ERA. In all of his major league seasons except the last, he had a mix of starts and relief appearances.

He is one of a handful of players to have played for four different teams during one season. He started the 1972 season with the Detroit Tigers and pitched 1 game; on May 9th, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Reggie Sanders, getting into another game. On May 17th, he, Curt Blefary and a player to be named (Greg Schubert) were sent to the San Diego Padres in return for Ollie Brown; he had pitched in 5 games for the Padres when on June 11th, he was traded once more, this time to the Cleveland Indians for Fred Stanley, and got into 22 games with the Tribe. Overall, he was 4-1, 3.78 between the four stops that year.

He spent time in the Intercounty Baseball League after his days in the Majors were over. Outside of baseball, he was a racehorse owner and golf pro.

Further Reading

• Thomas Ayers: "Mike Kilkenny", in Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 222-228. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1
• Tom Hawthorn: "Mike Kilkenny: Pitcher Threw for Four Teams in One Season", The Globe and Mail, July 17, 2018, p. B17. [1]

Related Sites

• Mike Kilkenny at the SABR Bio Project
• Obituary from the Detroit News