The Baseball Biography Project
Harry Kingman
by Bob Timmermann
http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=7538&bid=331
以下為摘錄：
It was fortunate for Harry Kingman that his father was the
chaplain of Pomona College, as he would likely never have
gotten into any college, for he was a poor student and
constantly in trouble. However, Harry was able to straighten
himself out and ended up becoming a sports star at Pomona,
participating in five sports: baseball, basketball, tennis,
track, and swimming.
After using up his eligibility in 1913, Kingman started playing
professional baseball in the short-lived Southern California
League, playing for the San Bernardino team. The league folded
after a few months, and Kingman opted to go to Springfield
College to earn a degree in physical education, as he missed
earning his degree at Pomona by one class.
After one term at Springfield, Kingman headed back home to
Claremont and re-enrolled at Pomona and earned his bachelor's
degree while serving as the coach of the baseball team. Despite
his inactivity, several scouts were interested in Kingman.
Eventually, the Washington Senators, on the advice of Los
Angeles Angels manager Frank Dillon, signed Kingman to a major
league contract in June of 1914.
When Kingman arrived in Washington, expecting to become a
Senator, he found out that before he ever put on a Washington
uniform that Washington manager Clark Griffith had traded him
(in exchange for what was never revealed in the newspapers of
the day) to the New York Yankees. Yankees manager Frank Chance
had likely heard of Kingman from friends in Southern
California. Chance owned a large orange grove in Glendora,
California, just a few miles west of Claremont.
Chance, like managers before him and after him, saw the tall
(6'1"), skinny (165 lbs) lefthander, and thought one thing:
Turn this kid into a pitcher. So, Harry Kingman, who left his
home in California and headed east expecting to be the next
Chick Gandil (who was Washington's first baseman in 1914),
instead found himself Frank Chance's pet project in becoming
New York's left-handed pitching hope. Besides, Chance had
already signed another first baseman, Charlie Mullen, to take
over that position for him.
Unfortunately for Kingman, he never could get the hang of
pitching. Chance never used him in a game as a pitcher, and in
his four games in the majors, Kingman played in the field only
once, and that was at first base. His other three appearances
were as a pinch hitter. Kingman never got a hit in his three
at-bats, but did walk once. After his walk, Chance pinch-ran
for Kingman with pitcher Jack Warhop; Kingman was also
pinch-hit for once by another pitcher, Ray Caldwell.
The 1914 Yankees were six years away from acquiring Babe Ruth
and were not one of the American League's better teams,
finishing in sixth place with a 70-84 record, 30 games behind
pennant winner Philadelphia. Chance lost his job toward the end
of the year and was replaced by 23-year old Roger Peckinpaugh.
Kingman was on the Yankees roster in 1915, but manager Bill
Donovan never played him, opting to use rookie Wally Pipp at
first base. At the end of the season, the Yankees wanted to
send Kingman to a minor league team in Guelph, Ontario, but
Kingman opted to go find another profession.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 220.132.162.195