Archie Richard McKain (May 12, 1911 – May 21, 1985) was an American left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Browns between 1937 and 1943.

Archie McKain
McKain, circa 1938
Pitcher
Born: (1911-05-12)May 12, 1911
Delphos, Kansas, U.S.
Died: May 21, 1985(1985-05-21) (aged 74)
Salina, Kansas, U.S.
Batted: Both
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 25, 1937, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
July 5, 1943, for the St. Louis Browns
MLB statistics
Win–loss record26–21
Earned run average4.26
Strikeouts188
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Early life

edit

McKain was born in Delphos, Kansas, in 1911.[1]

Career

edit

McKain began playing professional baseball in 1930 with the Pueblo Braves in the Western League. In his second season, he compiled an 18–12 record for the Braves with a 3.86 earned run average (ERA).[2] He advanced to AA baseball with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association. His performance dropped in 1931 as he compiled a 9–19 record. He remained with Louisville until 1935 when he joined the Minneapolis Millers.[2]

McKain made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 1937. In two seasons with Boston, he compiled a 13–12 record and a 4.60 ERA.[1]

McKain was traded to the Tigers with Pinky Higgins on December 15, 1938, in exchange for Elden Auker, Chet Morgan and Jake Wade.[3] He spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Tigers, compiling a 12–7 record and 3.74 ERA. He had his best season in 1940, compiling a 5–0 record with a 2.82 ERA (adjusted ERA+ of 168) as the Tigers won the American League pennant.[1] He appeared in game four of the 1940 World Series.

In August 1941, the Tigers sold McKain to the St. Louis Browns. He appeared in 18 games for the Browns in 1941 and 1943. When the Browns traded him to Brooklyn in July 1943, he retired from baseball.

Personal life

edit

After his baseball career, McKain lived in Minneapolis, Kansas, where he worked as a farmer and carpenter. He died in 1985 at Asbury Hospital at age 74 in Salina, Kansas.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Archie McKain". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Archie McKain Minor League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Higgins and McKain Go To Detroit Club". The Boston Globe. December 16, 1938. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Pitcher 'Hap' McKain Dead at 74". The Pensacola News. May 22, 1985. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.  
edit