Emmett James "Tim" McKeithan (November 2, 1906 – August 30, 1969) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player who was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from 1932 until 1934. He was listed at , weighed , while batting and throwing right-handed.

Early life

Emmett James McKeithan was born on November 2, 1906 in

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally ...

. He attended and played baseball for Duke University. His brother, Dick McKeithan, played in the Carolina League.Utley, p. 23

Baseball career

After his college career, he signed a contract with the

of the

(AL), and joined the team for the 1932 season without having played in minor league baseball. He made his

debut on July 21, 1932, in the ninth inning of a game versus the St. Louis Browns. In one inning, he surrendered one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop grou ...

and did not receive a decision in the 5–3 loss. In his next appearance, on July 28, he

started "Started" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her second studio album ''In My Defense''. The song was written by Azalea alongside Ronny Wright and produced by American record producer J. White Did It. It was released by Ba ...

and pitched 2 innings in a loss to the

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. After making a short

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

appearance on August 19, he started his second game of the season on September 24 against the Washington Senators. He pitched the first nine innings of the game and the score was tied 7-7. His relief then allowed a run in the 10th inning, and the Athletics lost. McKeithan began the 1933 baseball season with the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball, minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm system, farm club (Triple-A (base ...

, a class-AA team in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. In 45 appearances for the Royals, he had an 8–6

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

(W–L), and a 4.80

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 numb ...

(ERA) in 148 innings pitched. He then re-joined the Athletics in September, appearing in three additional games, including four innings of relief on September 18. He received the victory against the Tigers, allowed one run and struck out three batters, and connected for a

base hit In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's ch ...

in his only

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. His three strikeouts were the only three of his MLB pitching career. He returned to the Athletics for the 1934 season, and made his first appearance on April 18. He finished the game with two innings of relief and surrendered an eighth-inning home run to

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, the first that he had allowed in his career. It is claimed that this was the longest home run hit by Ruth in his career. In May, he made two one-inning relief appearances, and allowed two runs to score in each, raising his season's ERA to 15.75. On May 22, the Athletics released him from the team. His final MLB totals include 25 innings pitched in 10 games, and a 7.36 ERA. McKeithan finished out the 1934 season with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

of the IL, the class-AA affiliate of 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

. His win-loss record was 3-7 for the Chiefs in 22 appearances, and had a 6.21 ERA in 87 innings pitched. The following season, his last as a professional, he played for the Galveston Buccaneers of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, which was a class-A league. In eight games, his W–L record was 2–3 in 20 innings pitched.

Post-baseball

After his baseball career, he worked as a salesman, and later owned a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

Forest City, North Carolina Forest City, formerly known as "Burnt Chimney," is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,377 as of the 2020 census, making it the largest municipality in Rutherford County. History The Alexander Manufac ...

.Russo "Tim McKeithan" On August 30, 1969, McKeithan was shot in the stomach by another man and died in Forest City. He is interred at Concord Baptist Church Cemetery in Bostic, North Carolina. McKeithan's great-nephew, Joel McKeithan, is a hitting coach in MLB.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackeithan, Tim 1906 births 1969 deaths 1969 murders in the United States Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Rutherford County, North Carolina Philadelphia Athletics players Montreal Royals players Syracuse Chiefs players Galveston Buccaneers players Duke Blue Devils baseball players Sportspeople from Shelby, North Carolina People from Forest City, North Carolina Male murder victims People murdered in North Carolina Deaths by firearm in North Carolina