Ken Holcombe
From BR Bullpen
Kenneth Edward Holcombe
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Weight 169 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Nineteen-year-old Ken Holcombe pitched as a free agent for the Greensburg Green Sox of the Pennsylvania State Association in 1938 and the young right-hander went 9-8 with a 3.21 ERA. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 1939. He would win 14 and lose 12 for the Williamson Red Birds of the Mountain State League while pitching 218 innings that year.
Ken would stay in the St. Louis Cardinals organization until before the 1941 season when they sent him to the New York Yankees in an unknown transaction. Ken would have three good years (1942-44) with the Newark Bears of the International League. After winning 17 games in '44, he would make it to Yankee Stadium in 1945 and do some effective work out of the Yankee bullpen, going 3-3 with an excellent 1.80 ERA in 23 appearances.
Holcombe would be back in the minors in 1946 with the Newark Bears and the Kansas City Blues but did not pitch well. On November 1, 1946, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1946 Rule V Draft. The Pirates did not like what they got and sent Ken back to the Yankees where on April 15, 1947 he was purchased by the Sacramento Solons. Then, on November 10, 1947 the Cincinnati Reds drafted Ken in the 1947 Rule V Draft.
1948 would see Holcombe with the Reds in two outings and on May 10, they shipped him back to Sacramento. He was acquired by the Chicago Whie Sox in 1950 and had his best year in 1951, winning 11 games with a 3.78 ERA, but his pitching career was set back by bursitis and he was gone from the big leagues with a record of 18-32 after wearing the uniforms of the St. Louis Browns in 1952 and the 1953 Boston Red Sox.
Ken would wind up his 17-year (1938-54) professional baseball career with the San Francisco Seals in 1954 at the age of 35 and would win 10 and lose 10 with a 3.07 ERA, pitching 205 innings. He had a handsome minor league career, winning 133 times and losing 112 with a 3.64 ERA while pitching 2,084 innings.
Holcombe is now (2009) retired in Asheville, NC, where he was a supervisor for the Beacon Manufacturing company.
[edit] Sources
Baseball Players of the 1950s
Minors Page
