Vocation : Sports : Baseball

Stephen Patrick Larkin (December 9, 1910 – May 2, 1969) was a Major League Baseball pitcher.
Larkin joined the Detroit Tigers organization in 1931, signing a contract with Evansville. During the 1931 season, he played in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Wheeling, West Virginia. During the 1932 season, he played for the Tigers' farm clubs in Decatur, Illinois, Moline, Illinois, Huntington, and Beaumont. In 1933, he compiled a 22–7 record for the Shreveport Sports in the Dixie League, pitching 280 innings with 142 strikeouts and 96 walks. He led the Dixie League in wins and winning percentage during the 1933 season.After his strong performance in Shreveport, Larkin was invited to the Tigers' spring camp at Lakeland, Florida, in 1934. He played in two games for the 1934 Detroit Tigers. He pitched 6 innings and gave up only one earned run for an earned run average of 1.50.With the Tigers' having a strong pitching staff, Larkin was sent to Beaumont in June 1934. In November 1934, The Sporting News profiled Larkin as one of the "Minors Coming UP to Majors in '35." The Sporting News said of Larkin: "If size, weight and general physical appointments mean anything, somebody will have to move over on the Detroit bench and make room for Steve Larkin next spring. The 200-pounder, towering an inch above six feet ... appears to be one of the most promising of the pitching prospects scheduled to receive big league inspection."Larkin did not make the Tigers' roster in 1935. After two more years in Detroit's farm system, playing in Beaumont and Milwaukee, Larkin was released by the Tigers' organization in December 1936. Larkin concluded his baseball career in 1938 pitching for Portland and Fort Worth.

John Andrew Charles Kucek (born June 8, 1953), or JACK for short, is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays from 1974 to 1980.

Robert George Kline [Junior] (December 9, 1909 – March 16, 1987) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between the 1930 and 1934 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., Kline batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Enterprise, Ohio.

Dennis Paul Kinney (born February 26, 1952) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of five seasons in the majors, from 1978 until 1982. He played high school baseball for Bedford Senior High School in Temperance, Michigan.
Kinney was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 10th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, and he played in their organization through his major league debut in 1978. He was given a chance at closing games for the Indians, notching five saves in 18 games. That June, however, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Dan Spillner.
Kinney's one full season in the majors came in 1980 for the Padres. That year, he pitched in 50 games as a reliever, compiling a 4–6 record with a 4.25 ERA and one save. In December, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Dave Stegman, but appeared in just six games for the Tigers before being released in the offseason. After a brief trial with the Oakland Athletics in 1982, his major league career was over.
On August 21, 1980, with the Padres trailing the host Philadelphia Phillies, 7–6, Kinney came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning surrendering a single and a run-scoring double to the first two batters he faced. The Padres rallied with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 9th inning to tie the score, 8–8. The relief appearance lasted 91⁄3 innings as Bake McBride's triple plated a run in the bottom of the 17th inning for the Phillies' 9–8 victory.

Robert Edward Kelly (born October 4, 1927) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1951 to 1953, the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1953 and 1958, and the Cleveland Indians in 1958.
Kelly led East Cleveland Shaw High School to a state title in 1944, compiling a 7–2 record in 13 games with 75 strikeouts. He attended Purdue University, where he played college baseball for the Boilermakers from 1946 to 1947. Kelly also pitched collegiately for Western Reserve (now Case Western Reserve University) from 1948 to 1949. As of 2022, Kelly is the last surviving Major Leaguer to have been managed by Rogers Hornsby and Frankie Frisch.

Robert Thomas Kaiser (born April 29, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher, a left-handed reliever who appeared in five games for the Cleveland Indians during the 1971 season. Kaiser stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
Selected in the second round in the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft, Kaiser was recalled by Cleveland after spending the 1971 season at three levels of minor league baseball, Class A through Triple-A. In his MLB debut, he surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced, Duane Josephson of the Boston Red Sox. But he finished the inning strongly by striking out a future Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski.All told, he allowed eight hits and three earned runs in six MLB innings pitched, with three bases on balls and four strikeouts. He did not record a save.

Richard Lloyd Hoover (December 11, 1925 – April 12, 1981) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Braves during the 1952 season. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 170 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.

Calvin Grey Hogue (October 24, 1927 – August 5, 2005) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 25 Major League Baseball games between 1952 and 1954 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The native of Dayton, Ohio, stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Hogue spent his rookie season, and 19 games of his MLB career, on one of the worst teams in history: the 1952 Pirates, who won only 42 of 154 games and finished 541⁄2 games out of first place in the National League. Recalled by Pittsburgh after compiling a 10–3 record with the Class A Charleston Rebels of the Sally League, Hogue threw a complete game, four-hit 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in his second appearance in the Major Leagues on July 17. But he was hit hard in his next start, also against the Phillies, allowing ten earned runs in three innings pitched and taking the loss in 14–4 Phillie win. He started ten more games for the Pirates, but failed to win another game, finishing 1–8 (4.84), although he did throw two more complete games.Hogue spent most of 1953 in the Double-A Texas League, and pitched in three games for the Pirates. He gained his second Major League win on September 27, throwing another complete game and beating the New York Giants, 6–4. Then Hogue made the 1954 Pirates coming out of spring training. He started two April games, but failed to last past four complete innings in each one. He retired from professional baseball after three games with the 1957 Columbus Jets of the Triple-A International League.
During his Major League career, Hogue issued 96 bases on balls in 1132⁄3 innings and allowed 109 hits, with 54 strikeouts.

Melvin Nicholas Held (born April 12, 1929) is an American former professional baseball player. He appeared in four Major League Baseball games as a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles at the outset of the 1956 season, and had a 13-year career in minor league baseball. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg).
Held, nicknamed "Country", was a nine-year minor league veteran when he pitched for the Orioles in 1956, having signed with the team when it was the St. Louis Browns in 1947. His performance during the 1955 season for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League — he posted a 24–7 won-lost record and a 2.87 earned run average — earned him a call-up to Baltimore the following year.
In his first two MLB games, on April 27–28, Held pitched a total of three innings of scoreless relief against the Washington Senators. In his next two appearances, however, in May against the first-division Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, Held surrendered four earned runs and five hits in four innings. Altogether, Held gave up seven hits in seven innings pitched in MLB, with three walks and four strikeouts. Held was sent back to the minor leagues for good at the May cutdown. His career continued through 1959, and he won 131 minor-league games.

Wynn Firth Hawkins (February 20, 1936 – February 11, 2021) was an American professional baseball player, scout and executive. During his active career, he was a right-handed pitcher who was signed by the Cleveland Indians before the 1955 season, and played in the Major Leagues with the Indians from 1960 to 1962. He attended Baldwin Wallace University, where he was a star in basketball. Hawkins stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
Hawkins was perhaps best known for giving up Ted Williams's 500th home run (June 17, 1960). He appeared in 48 games (with 30 starts) during his three seasons with the Tribe. During his career, Hawkins gave up 99 walks in just 2022⁄3 innings pitched, for a BB/9IP of 4.40, higher than the American League average at that time. He finished his career with a total of 12 wins, 13 losses, 1 save, 11 games finished, and an ERA of 4.17.
Career highlights for Hawkins include pitching the first 11 innings of a 12-inning game, giving up one unearned run and defeating the Detroit Tigers 2–1 (April 26, 1960), a five-hit, complete-game victory over the Boston Red Sox, winning 10–1 (April 30, 1961), and a two-hit, complete-game shutout against the Minnesota Twins (May 21, 1961).
After his pitching career, Hawkins was a scout for the Indians, and served as the team's traveling secretary as well as in sales. Hawkins died on February 11, 2021, at his home in Canfield, Ohio.