Fun facts about Ed Kirkpatrick:
-Born in Spokane, WA, Ed (nicknamed "Spanky") signed with the Angels in 1962 and made his big league debut that September at age 17.
-He had a reputation as a scrapper. Bert Campaneris played all nine positions in one game for the A's on September 8, 1965. Kirkpatrick's Angels were the opponent, and with Campy at catcher in the ninth inning, Ed attempted to score from third. There was a collision as the young Angel was tagged out, and a brawl ensued. When the smoke cleared, Bert had to be hospitalized!
-Ed never really found a permanent spot with the Halos, logging significant time in the minor leagues in five of his seven seasons with the organization.
-In December of 1968, he and Dennis Paepke became the first two players acquired via trade by the Royals (in exchange for the ageless Hoyt Wilhelm).
-In KC's inaugural season, he set a team record that still stands with 11 RBI in a three-game span.
-Hit a career-high 18 home runs and 62 RBI in 1970.
-Was a role player for the Pirates in the mid-1970s, appearing in two straight National League Championship Series (he was 0-for-11 with two walks). He also sparked another memorable brawl in 1975, smacking Reds manager Sparky Anderson after the benches had cleared in midgame.
-Hit three pinch-hit home runs in his career, including a game-winning shot in the top of the 11th on May 25, 1975 against the Padres.
-After splitting 1977 among three teams and playing out the 1978 season in the minors, Ed retired. He hit .238 in parts of 16 major league seasons, with 85 home runs and 424 RBI.
-In 1981, Kirkpatrick was badly injured in a car accident and has been wheelchair-bound ever since. His hometown of Glendora, CA has created the Ed Kirkpatrick Award, which is bestowed annually to a community member for outstanding support of youth athletics.
I didn't know Ed Kirkpatrick had been hurt like that. It's unfortunate. :(
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many fights Campaneris got into in his career.
One thing I loved to study on these old cards were the stops these guys made on the way to the majors. Look at Ed's list: San Jose, Quad Cities, L.A., then out to Hawaii, some time in Nashville, then stops in L.A., Hawaii, and L.A. again. All in three years. And the guy wasn't 20 years old yet.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear about Ed's injuries.
Matt - Well, the infamous Lerrin LaGrow bat toss in 1972 trumps them all, of course.
ReplyDeleteDoug - He certainly paid his dues, but at least he spent time in Hawaii!
Yeah--the backs of cards had a wider variety of cities/towns back then. It was fun to try to guess where these cities were.
ReplyDeleteDid a little bit of this...a little bit of that
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