High Pockets Kelly Stats & Facts
George Kelly
Name Note: Name presented as High Pockets Kelly in some sources
Positions: First Baseman, Second Baseman and Outfielder
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-4, 190lb (193cm, 86kg)
Born: September 10, 1895 in San Francisco, CA
Died: October 13, 1984 in Burlingame, CA
Buried: Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, CA
Debut: August 18, 1915 (4,385th in major league history)
vs. CIN 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: July 26, 1932
vs. STL 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1973. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View George Kelly’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: George Lange Kelly
Nicknames: High Pockets
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Brother of Ren Kelly; Cousin of Rich Chiles; Nephew of Bill Lange
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1915
Sam Rice
Rogers Hornsby
Joe Judge
George Sisler
Dave Bancroft
Dazzy Vance
Charlie Jamieson
George Kelly
Baby Doll Jacobson
The George Kelly Teammate Team
C: Pop Snyder
1B: Charlie Grimm
2B: Frankie Frisch
3B: Fred Lindstrom
SS: Travis Jackson
LF: Irish Meusel
CF: Hack Wilson
RF: Ross Youngs
SP: Christy Mathewson
SP: Wilbur Cooper
SP: Art Nehf
SP: Jesse Barnes
SP: Eppa Rixey
RP: Pol Perritt
M: John McGraw
Notable Events and Chronology
Biography
Kelly flourished in an era of weak first basemen in the National League. Though his credentials for entry into the Hall of Fame may be marginal, he had respectable talents afield and at bat, and he joined Frank Frisch, Dave Bancroft, and Heinie Groh in what many consider the best Giant infield of all time.
A nephew of outfielder Bill Lange, one of Cap Anson’s Colts (later the Cubs) of the 1890s, and a brother of Ren Kelly, who pitched one game with the 1923 A’s, George was shuffled about for five years before becoming the Giants’ regular first baseman in 1920. Tall for his time (6’4″), he was nicknamed Highpockets and Long George by the press; to his teammates he was Kell, a reserved and even-tempered fellow.
Kelly excelled in the field, setting single-season marks for putouts, assists, double plays, and total chances, in part because shortstop Bancroft was also setting marks for assists. A righthander, he had a powerful and accurate arm. In 1921 against the Yankees, he made a brilliant first-to-third throw to nip Aaron Ward for a game-ending, Series-winning double play. He was John McGraw’s preferred cutoff man, dashing into the outfield on long hits to handle the relay. Despite his size, he played a creditable second base for most of 1925, when McGraw wanted Kelly’s bat in the lineup while trying young Bill Terry at first base. He even won his only game as a pitcher, beating the Phillies and Joe Oeschger in five innings of relief.
He batted over .300 for six consecutive seasons (1921-26) and was intermittently impressive as a long-ball hitter. Twice he hit three home runs in one game, the splurge in 1924 accounting for all eight Giant runs, the National League record for most RBIs in a game while batting in all the club’s runs. The same year, he set another NL record by hitting seven homers in six games, with at least one in each. He also knocked in 100 or more runs four years in a row, capped by a league- and career-high 136 in 1924. Even so, his lifetime slugging average was an unspectacular .452. This evidently did not worry his manager. Over the years, McGraw said, the placid, reliable Kelly made more important hits than any player he ever had.
Displaced by Terry in 1927, Kelly was traded to the Reds for Edd Roush. Released in 1930, he returned briefly to the @KK @@ majors with the Cubs and Dodgers when Charlie Grimm and Del Bissonette were injured. When his playing days were over, he coached the Reds and Braves for 11 years and scouted for several teams.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
A power-hitting first baseman who led the National League in home runs in 1921, George Kelly finished in the top six in that category six times. He was the RBI-man in the middle of John McGraw’s lineups that won four straight pennants from 1921-1924. At 6’4″, Kelly was known as “Highpockets,” and was a fan favorite in New York and everywhere else he played. With Frankie Frisch, Travis Jackson and Freddie Lindstrom, Kelly formed an all-Hall of Fame infield for the Giants in the 1920s.
Played For
New York Giants (1915-1917)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1917)
New York Giants (1919-1926)
Cincinnati Reds (1927-1930)
Chicago Cubs (1930)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1932)
Similar: Frank McCormick, Steve Garvey, Tony Perez, Bob Watson. All of these players except possibly McCormick, were better than Kelly. Billy Goodman was another fine-hitting first baseman who also played several games at other infield positions, like Kelly. McGraw’s opinion of Kelly is similar to Sparky Anderson’s assessment of Perez on the Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s. McGraw felt that even though Kelly didn’t always put up the biggest numbers on his team, he was the guy he wanted at the plate in clutch situations.
Linked: Frankie Frisch, Travis Jackson, Bill Terry
Best Season, 1921
“Long George” clubbed 23 homers, which led the league, and his 122 RBI were second in the loop. He hit .308 with 42 doubles, nine triples and 95 runs scored. The Giants won the National League flag and defeated the Yankees in the World Series.
Post-Season Appearances
1921 World Series
1922 World Series
1923 World Series
1924 World Series
Feats: Kelly was a streaky power hitter. In July of 1924 he set an NL record with seven long balls in six games, and at least one in six straight. He also clubbed three homers in a game twice (an NL record until surpassed by Johnny Mize), and once batted in all eight of his team’s runs in one of those three-homer games.
Batting Feats
September 17, 1923: 15 Total Bases…
Notes
Elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1973.
Transactions
The Giants tried Kelly at second base in 1925 to get young Bill Terry into the lineup. It was Terry’s arrival that precipitated Kelly’s trade to the Reds in 1927, for future Hall of Famer Edd Roush… Released by the Reds in July 1930, Kelly returned to the big leagues when Cubs’ first baseman Charlie Grimm was injured in late August.
Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org
1924 World Series Scandal
Five years after the infamous “Black Sox Scandal” rocked baseball, another gambling and bribery scandal struck during the 1924 World Series, between the Giants and Senators. This scandal involved the Giants – specifically outfielder Jimmy O’Connell and coach Cozy Dolan – who were investigated by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for having offered a bribe to Phillies’ shortstop Heinie Sand at the end of the season. After O’Connell claimed teammates Frankie Frisch, George Kelly and Ross Youngs were in on the scam, Landis interviewed those players but exonerated them. O’Connell and Dolan were banned for life, and American League president Ban Johnson reacted with his usual blustering, threatening to boycott the World Series against those “cheating Giants.” The Series was played, and was won by the American League’s Senators.
Replaced
Kelly replaced Fred Merkle and later Hal Chase, as the Giants’ everyday first baseman.
Other Resources & Links
If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.