Richard Henry Kerr (July 3, 1893 – May 4, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball. He also served as a coach and manager in the minor leagues.
Early life
Kerr was born in St. Louis, Missouri, one of Richard J. and Anna (née Tieman) Kerr's nine children. Kerr's father worked as a firefighter on rafts along the Mississippi. Kerr played for the White Sox from 1919 to 1921.
Eight of Kerr's teammates took bribes to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Kerr was not involved in the scandal and won both of the games he started.
Nevertheless, owner Comiskey refused to give Kerr what he believed to be a fair raise. From 1927 to 1938, Kerr played for minor league teams before retiring from his playing career. Kerr is not eligible for the Hall of Fame under the Hall's current rules, which require a player to have played in at least ten major league seasons (Kerr played in only four).
Although Kerr was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, his accomplishments received recognition. He "received the inaugural Tris Speaker Memorial Award from the Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America", He received Houston's key to the city during a night honoring him in 1961 at Busch Stadium.
Kerr lost his fight with cancer and died May 4, 1963, and he is buried in Houston, Texas at the Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. Its last known keeper was the Finger Family, and their curator Tom Kennedy.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders