[Deathwatch] George Kell, athlete, 86

[Deathwatch Central]

Hall of Famer George Kell dead at 86
Third baseman led Chicago White Sox in hitting in 1955

By Bob Vanderberg

March 25, 2009

George Kell, a 10-time All-Star third baseman whose 15-year
major-league career included a short but productive stay with the White
Sox, died in his sleep Tuesday at his home in Swifton, Ark.

The 1983 Hall of Fame inductee was 86.

Kell, who spent most of his career with Detroit and later broadcast
Tigers games from 1959 through 1996, edged Ted Williams for the 1949
American League batting championship, hitting .3429 to Williams' .3428.
He hit better than .300 nine times and compiled a career average of
.306.

"He was a great contact hitter," said former White Sox pitcher Billy
Pierce, a teammate of Kell's in Chicago and Detroit. "Us pitchers
always used to say that George, Ted Williams and Yogi Berra—those
three—were the best at squaring up the ball, hitting it solid,
consistently. You never saw those guys pop it up."

Kell hit .304 or above every year between 1946-53. In May 1954 the
first-place White Sox sent infielder Grady Hatton and the then princely
sum of $125,000 to the Red Sox for Kell, who rounded out an All-Star
infield that already featured shortstop Chico Carrasquel, second
baseman Nelson Fox and first baseman Ferris Fain.

Within six weeks, Kell and Fain were on the disabled list with knee
injuries and the Sox slipped out of the race. Kell, the guaranteed .300
hitter, ended up at .276.

The following season, however, he stayed relatively healthy. He played
128 games and led the club in batting average (.312) and RBIs (81), as
the Sox went into September in first place before an 8-11 road trip
relegated them to third.

In May 1956, Kell was traded to Baltimore, where eventually he groomed
another Arkansas native, future Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, to
replace him.

"There's no one who loved and respected the game more than George,"
said Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson.

"Not only was he one of baseball's true legends, but he was a fan too.
He loved coming to Cooperstown and sharing in the camaraderie with his
Hall of Fame family, and we will miss him."


Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary