Kenneth Fredrick Keltner was born October 31, 1916 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His nickname was Butch. Ken's major league debut occurred on October 2, 1937 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. He spent eleven seasons with the Indians and is acknowledged as their all-time third baseman.
A timely hitter, he was a seven-time All-Star and a fabulous fielder. He played a major role in the ending of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak on July 17,1947 before a then-record crowd of 67,468 in Cleveland, Ken made two brilliant stops of DiMaggio line drives, one a backhanded stab.
Ken had a single, double, and a three-run home run in the first-ever playoff game in AL history on October 4, 1948, which helped the Tribe to a victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Ken was involved with SABR until his passing on December 12, 1991.
The Ken Keltner Badger Chapter of SABR was formed in 2002. The chapter was developed by a group of baseball enthusiasts who hosted a national SABR convention in 2001. The chapter has worked with the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association, Wisconsin State Historical Museum and other organizations on the 50th anniversary of the Milwaukee Braves and other projects. The The chapter meets 4-6 times a year in the Milwaukee area.kee area.
For information on how to to join the chapter, click here.
To reach a Message Board for the Keltner chapter and other Midwest SABR chapters. click here. Notices of events will be posted on that board. Also, feel free to join in with your opinions on SABR events and baseball in general.
You can also communicate with Keltner chapter members at their Facebook page by clicking here.
Events:
Our next meeting will be held on at 11 a.m. Saturday January 28th, as we commemorate SABR Day. The meeting will be a joint meeting with the Emil Rothe Chapter ( Chicago area).
The Brat Stop ( Our meeting will be held in The Wisconsin Room)
12304 75th Street (Wis. State 50& I -94)
Kenosha, WI. 53142
Exit I-94 at #344/WI-50/Kenosha/Lake Geneva. Turn west (Right if going southbound, left if going northbound) The Brat Stop will be just past McDonald's.
We will have a "Hot Stove League" conversation, and we will have two speakers:
Bob Lee has an illustrious Basball career which includes four years in the Milwaukee Braves minor league system, which included stops at Corpus Christi, Eau Claire, and Cedar Rapids. He was a Northern League All-Star in 1957. Bob was one of the driving forces in helping to bring a Twins minor league franchise to Kenosha, where they played from 1984-1992.
Craig Wieczorkiewicz is a professional writer and lifelong basball fan who visited all 16 Midwest League ballparks during the summer of 2011. He is currently writing a book and the ballparks and his experiences he had during his travels. Craig will talk about some of the interesting features of the ballparks and share some of those experiences.
If you have questions??? Don’t hesitate in contacting me at 414-322-4997 or at RICKIU76@aol.com.
Check out stories from the chapter's project on Borchert Field by clicking here and going to archived A Look Back columns.
For more on Borchert, go to www.borchertfield.com
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