Tribute to Harmon Killebrew

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Harmon Killebrew Photo Gallery
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Harmon Killebrew’s First Major League Home Run!

“He hit line drives that put the opposition in jeopardy. And I don’t mean infielders…I mean outfielders.”   -Former Senators’ player and manager Ossie Bluege, speaking of rookie Harmon Killebrew.

“Killebrew can knock the ball out of any park…including Yellowstone!” – Orioles general manager, Paul Richards, speaking of Harmon Killebrew.

Yesterday was the 61^st anniversary of Harmon Killebrew’s first major league home run. It came June 23, 1955 off the Tigers’ Billy Hoeft at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. I’m sure he never forgot that day, as it came in a game in which the Tigers defeated the Senators 18-7!

Since this great Hall-of-Famer played most of his career with the small market Minnesota Twins, he’s often overlooked.  But Harmon Killebrew deserves more attention as he was one of the most feared sluggers of his era. The stocky, 5-foot-11-inch, 213-pound Killebrew had a compact swing that generated tremendous power. When he retired in 1975, he was second to only Babe Ruth in American League home runs, and had hit more home runs than any right-handed batter in American League history.

Harmon played his entire 22 years in the major leagues (1954-75) with the Senators/Twins, except for his last year, which was with the Kansas City Athletics (1975). Over his career, Harmon hit .256, with 2,086 hits, 574 home runs (11^th all-time), and 1584 RBIs (39^th all-time). He was a 13-time All-Star, an American League MVP (1969), a six-time American League home run leader, and a three-time American League RBI leader. “Hammerin’ Harmon” hit 40 or more home runs eight times, and had 44 multiple home run games. He was the star of the 1965 pennant-winning Twins who lost the World Series to the Sandy Koufax-led Dodgers. His best year was 1969, when he hit 49 home runs, with 140 RBIs and was named the American League MVP.

Killebrew was known for his tape-measure home runs. He hit the longest measured home runs at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium, a 520 ft. shot that landed in the second deck of the bleachers; at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, 471 ft.; and was the first of just four batters to hit a baseball over the roof at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium.

Although he was known as “Killer” at the plate, Harmon Killebrew was a gentle and quiet man off the field. Twins Public Relations Director Tom Mee once said of him: “He’s one of the finest individuals in the major leagues. To know him is to be a Killebrew fan.” Teammate Rich Reese called him “One of the classiest people I’ve ever met in my life. He treated everyone he met with respect.”

After retiring from baseball, Harmon became a baseball TV broadcaster for several baseball teams (1976-1988), and at one time was a hitting instructor for the Oakland Athletics.  In 1990 he founded the Harmon Killebrew Foundation. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Harmon Killebrew passed away on May 17, 2011 after a five month battle with esophageal cancer.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google Search

Information: Excerpts edited from the Harmon Killebrew Wikipedia page. Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmon_Killebrew; and from the National Baseball Hal of Fame, Harmon Killebrew page: http://baseballhall.org/hof/killebrew-harmon

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