OT: RIP MLB Hall of Famer, George Kell

[picky]

One of the voices of summer is now silent: Baseball Hall of Fame, former third-baseman, television sportcaster and friend, George Kell passed away yesterday at the age of 86, at his home in Swifton. Mr. Kell had an extensive major league baseball career that spanned 6 decades:

Playing Career:

He was a member of the 2,000 hit club and was an All Star 10 times in:1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957. George bested Hall of Famer, Ted Williams in 1949 with a batting average of .3429, which kept Williams from winning the Triple Crown that year.

• Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946)
• Detroit Tigers (1946–1952)
• Boston Red Sox (1952–1954)
• Chicago White Sox (1954–1956)
• Baltimore Orioles (1956–1957)

Baseball Broadcasting Career:

• Play-by-play announcer for the Orioles (1957)
• CBS television (1958)
• NBC radio (1962)
• Detroit Tigers (1959-1996)

Note: From 1975 until his retirement in 1996 from broadcasting, Kell was joined on Tiger telecasts by Hall of Famer, Al Kaline as color commentator.

My son Bill and I met George at an autograph signing back in the early 1990s, and he was so approachable and spent at least 15 minutes with us answering our questions and trading stories. What a nice man. His distinctive southern drawl was what drew most Detroiters to their TVs on evenings and Saturday afternoons to watch the Tigers play and to hear George say, "He hit it a mile!" - usually refering to Willie Horton. George will be missed. God bless him and his family. -Glenn

[Daddy Dee]

We had the pleasure of knowing George Kell as an acquaintance in the 90's. A gentleman, indeed.

[oscarsear]

My wife takes care of Lonnie Frey the oldest living all star player. He is in his mid 90's and still quite alert. Recently his son brought a bunch of his memorabilia to an Antiques Roadshow program. The stuff was worth a ton of money.