George Kelly (baseball)

For other people named George Kelly, see George Kelly (disambiguation).

George Kelly
Kelly in 1920
First baseman
Born: (1895-09-10)September 10, 1895
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died: October 13, 1984(1984-10-13) (aged 89)
Burlingame, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 18, 1915, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
July 27, 1932, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.297
Home runs148
Runs batted in1,020
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1973
Election methodVeterans Committee

George Lange Kelly (September 10, 1895 – October 13, 1984), nicknamed "Long George" and "High Pockets",[1][2] was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Giants (1915–1917, 1919–1926), but also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1917), Cincinnati Reds (1927–1930), Chicago Cubs (1930), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1932). Kelly threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as a lanky 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall—the source of his nicknames—and 190 pounds (86 kg).

Kelly was a two-time World Series champion (1921 and 1922). He led the National League in home runs once (1921) and runs batted in twice (1920 and 1924), and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. However, his selection is regarded as controversial, as many believe he was undeserving of the recognition and was only elected by the Veterans Committee because it consisted of his former teammates.[3][4][5][6]

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