Larry Nathaniel Kimbrough (September 23, 1923 – January 29, 2001), nicknamed "Schoolboy", was an American

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, ...

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

during the 1940s. A rare

switch pitcher In baseball, a switch pitcher is an ambidexterity, ambidextrous pitcher who is able to pitch with either the right or left hand from the pitcher's mound. Switch pitchers are rare at higher levels of competition, with Pat Venditte being the only p ...

, he played for the Philadelphia Stars and the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cum ...

. He also made appearances as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Biography

A native of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Kimbrough graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, where he starred on the school's baseball team, tossing a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in 1941. A natural left-hander, he learned to throw right-handed as a child while recuperating from an injury. He stated "I could throw them as hard left-handed as I could right-handed, with a better curveball left-handed." Kimbrough played in the second Negro National League from 1942 to 1944, missed 1945 while serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, and again played in 1946 and 1948. Overall, he pitched in 13 games (four starts), compiling a 1–5

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 6.75

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) while striking out 14 batters in 44

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. As a

position player In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. A pitcher is generally not considered a position player. A designated hitter, who bats but does not play any defensive position, is also not ...

, he played as an

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

, and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He had a .265

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(9-for-34) with four

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs). Independent accounts verifying that Kimbrough operated as a switch pitcher during his baseball career are lacking, but Kimbrough himself claimed that he earned a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victory in 1943 pitching from both sides. Other accounts verify his pitching win but not that he used both arms as a pitcher in that specific game. Kimbrough later worked for the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

for 33 years. He was an inductee of the

Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (PSHF) is a nonprofit organization established in 1962.Home page
Pennsylvania Sports Hall o ...

. Kimbrough died in Philadelphia in 2001, aged 77; he was survived by his wife and four daughters.

References

External links

an
Seamheads
*Larry Kimbrough a

*Larry Kimbrough biography fro
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimbrough, Larry 1923 births 2001 deaths Baseball players from Philadelphia Philadelphia Stars players Homestead Grays players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen United States Army personnel of World War II