Archie Richard McKain (May 12, 1911 – May 21, 1985) was an American left-handed

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

between 1937 and 1943.

Early life

McKain was born in

Delphos, Kansas Delphos is a city in Ottawa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 302. The community was named after Delphos, Ohio. History Delphos was founded in 1867 by Levi and Dan Yockey. The two brother ...

, in 1911.

Career

McKain began playing professional baseball in 1930 with the Pueblo Braves in the Western League. In his second season, he compiled an 18–12 record for the Braves with a 3.86

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). McKain advanced to AA baseball with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the American Association. His performance declined in 1931 as he compiled a 9–19 record. McKain remained with Louisville until 1935 when he joined the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

. McKain made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 1937. In two seasons with Boston, he compiled a 13–12 record and a 4.60 ERA. McKain was traded to the Tigers with

Pinky Higgins Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins (May 27, 1909 – March 21, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston ...

on December 15, 1938, in exchange for

Elden Auker Elden LeRoy "Submarine" Auker (September 21, 1910 – August 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1933 and 1942. Auker batted and threw right-handed. Auker wa ...

Chet Morgan Chester Collins Morgan (June 6, 1910 – September 20, 1991), nicknamed "Chick," was an American baseball player and manager. He played Major League Baseball, principally as a center fielder, for the Detroit Tigers during the 1935 and 1938 seaso ...

and Jake Wade. He spent two-and-one-half seasons with the Tigers, compiling a 12–7 record and 3.74 ERA. McKain had his best season in 1940, compiling a 5–0 record with a 2.82 ERA (

adjusted ERA+ Adjusted ERA+, often simply abbreviated to ERA+ or ERA plus, is a pitching statistic in baseball. It adjusts a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) according to the pitcher's ballpark (in case the ballpark favors batters or pitchers) and the ERA o ...

of 168) as the Tigers won the American League pennant. He appeared in game four of the

1940 World Series The 1940 World Series matched the 1940 Cincinnati Reds season, Cincinnati Reds against the 1940 Detroit Tigers season, Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series. The victory secured the Reds the second champions ...

. In August 1941, the Tigers sold McKain to the

. He appeared in 18 games for the Browns in 1941 and 1943. When the Browns traded McKain to Brooklyn in July 1943, he retired from baseball.

Personal life

After his baseball career, McKain lived in

Minneapolis, Kansas Minneapolis is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,946. History The community was originally called Markley's Mills, and under the latter name was l ...

, where he worked as a farmer and carpenter. He died in 1985 at Asbury Hospital at age 74 in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1858 ...

References

External links

SABR biography
Baseball players from Kansas Boston Red Sox players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Pueblo Braves players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Toledo Mud Hens players St. Louis Browns players 1911 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub