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. For a list of members, and contact information on them, 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.
Events:
Daron Sutton with chapter president Rick Schabowski
The Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter of SABR met at Long Wong's Chinese-American Sportsbar on Saturday, May 2. Our guest speaker was one of the TV broadcasters for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Daron Sutton. We also showed "Bob Uecker: A Baseball Life" by Bob Buege, and Rick Schabowski at the meeting. Look for announcements of future meetings here and on the Midwest SABR message board.
Below, Bob Uecker chats with commish Bud Selig (center), and former MLB ump Bruce Froemming at the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association dinner honoring him. Uecker also was inducted into the Braves Wall of Fame in Miller Park. Several Keltner SABR chapter members also are very active in the MBHA.
Check out stories from the chapter's project on Borchert Field by clicking here and going to archived A Look Back columns.
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