Ray Kolp

Raymond Carl Kolp
(Jockey)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.

• Debut April 16, 1921
• Final Game September 21, 1934
• Born October 1, 1894 in New Berlin, OH USA
• Died July 29, 1967 in Cincinnati, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Right-hander Ray Kolp pitched in both of the Major Leagues. He came up first with the St. Louis Browns in 1921 after pitching and playing shortstop for the Akron Buckeyes in the AA (then the highest minor league classification) International League during the 1920 season. He spent the next four seasons, 1921 through 1924 with St. Louis, going 32-30. His best year came in 1922 when he went 14-4 with a 3.93 ERA while pitching 166 innings for the St. Louis club.

Ray would find himself back in the minors in 1925 with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, where he went 22-13 with a 3.78 ERA while pitching 302 innings. This performance didn't catch anyone's attention and Ray would spend 1926 in St. Paul again, winning 18 and losing 11 with a 3.62 ERA. This caught the Cincinnati Reds' eye and Ray signed for the 1927 year. He held his own with a 3-3 record and a 3.03 ERA, appearing in just 24 games. Kolp would spend the next eight years with the Cincinnati club through the 1934 season.

Kolp's best season with the Reds came in 1928 when he went 13-10 with a 3.19 ERA while pitching 209 innings. He was up and down for the next six years, unable to get a string started and would finish up his major league career with the Reds at the age of 39 in 1934. He ended up with a 12-year major league record of 79 wins and 95 losses with a 4.08 ERA, while pitching 1,688 innings.

Ray wasn't quite finished yet and hooked up with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, going 11-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 1935, but fell to 2-7 in 1936. He would spend 1937 with the Mt. Airy Reds of the Bi-State League and the Syracuse Chiefs, going 3-2 in 22 games. The veteran would finally finish up his baseball career in 1938, at the age of 43, with the Louisville Colonels, appearing in 9 games with no decisions. His minor league stats show that Ray won 56 and lost 42 with a 4.12 ERA while appearing in 182 games and pitching 940 innings.

He came back to manage the Williamsport Grays in the 1944 and 1945 seasons.

After baseball, Kolp returned to his native state of Ohio and passed away on July 29, 1967 in Cincinnati, OH, at the age of 72.

Related Sites

• Ray Kolp at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Ray Kolp