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John Edward Kennedy
Seattle Pilots
Shortstop
Born: May 29, 1941, Chicago, IL
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1962-64; Los Angeles Dodgers 1965-66; New York Yankees 1967; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Boston Red Sox 1970-74
World Series Appearances: Los Angeles Dodgers 1965
Died: August 9, 2018, Peabody, MA (age 77)
Sharing a name and a birthday (May 29th) with the 35th President of the United States, this John Kennedy was a middle infielder for 12 seasons in the big leagues. Kennedy's only season as an everyday player for a full season came in 1964 when he was the starting third baseman (81 games) or shortstop (43 games) for Gil Hodges' (#564) Senators. Kennedy was traded to the Dodgers with Claude Osteen (#528) in December 1964 in the trade that sent Frank Howard (#170) and four other players to the Senators. With the Dodgers, he appeared in 104 games in 1965 and won a World Series ring with the club. Kennedy would go on to serve as a back-up infielder for the Pilots during their only year of existence and finished his playing career with 4 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox. In 856 games, Kennedy was a .225 lifetime hitter with 32 home runs and 185 RBIs.
Died: August 9, 2018, Peabody, MA (age 77)
Sharing a name and a birthday (May 29th) with the 35th President of the United States, this John Kennedy was a middle infielder for 12 seasons in the big leagues. Kennedy's only season as an everyday player for a full season came in 1964 when he was the starting third baseman (81 games) or shortstop (43 games) for Gil Hodges' (#564) Senators. Kennedy was traded to the Dodgers with Claude Osteen (#528) in December 1964 in the trade that sent Frank Howard (#170) and four other players to the Senators. With the Dodgers, he appeared in 104 games in 1965 and won a World Series ring with the club. Kennedy would go on to serve as a back-up infielder for the Pilots during their only year of existence and finished his playing career with 4 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox. In 856 games, Kennedy was a .225 lifetime hitter with 32 home runs and 185 RBIs.
He served as a scout and minor league manager with the Boston, Oakland and New York Yankees' organizations between 1975 and 2001. Kennedy managed the North Shore Spirit in the independent Northern League between 2003 and 2006.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #521
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
1969 Season
After spending the entire 1968 season in the minor leagues, Kennedy was purchased by the Pilots from the Yankees on November 13, 1968. In 61 games with the Pilots, Kennedy batted .234 with three doubles, a triple and four home runs. He had 14 RBIs all season. For some reason receiving less playing time than the light-hitting Ray Oyler (#178), Kennedy made 18 starts at third base and 14 starts at shortstop. He was featured in Jim Bouton's book, Ball Four, in Bouton's entry for June 18th:
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1964-67, 1969-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1973 Topps #437
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 44 in the Beckett online database as of 6/6/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 77th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $3.
The Card / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
Browsing through the dealer's wares at an early 1980s baseball card show, most likely held inside the Ocean City Music Pier in New Jersey, this was the first Pilots card I ever saw. I had no idea the Pilots had existed, and I remember this card sending me down a rabbit hole within the baseball books at our library trying to learn more information about these mysterious Pilots. The back of the card explains how Kennedy came to the Pilots and highlights his high school athletic success.
Accuracy Index: Kennedy's card earns a solid +10 for the Pilots' expansion uniform.
1969 Season
After spending the entire 1968 season in the minor leagues, Kennedy was purchased by the Pilots from the Yankees on November 13, 1968. In 61 games with the Pilots, Kennedy batted .234 with three doubles, a triple and four home runs. He had 14 RBIs all season. For some reason receiving less playing time than the light-hitting Ray Oyler (#178), Kennedy made 18 starts at third base and 14 starts at shortstop. He was featured in Jim Bouton's book, Ball Four, in Bouton's entry for June 18th:
John Kennedy flew into a rage at [umpire] Emmett Ashford over a called strike and was tossed out of the game. Still raging, he kicked in the water cooler in the dugout, picked it up and threw it onto the field. Afterward, we asked him what had gotten into him. He really isn’t that type. And he said, "Just as I got called out on strikes, my greenie kicked in."
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1964-67, 1969-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1973 Topps #437
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 44 in the Beckett online database as of 6/6/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#630 Bobby Bonds - San Francisco Giants / #632 Jon Warden - Kansas City Royals
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