LEO KIELY INDEX CARD SIGNED 1951-60 BOSTON RED SOX PSA/DNA CERTIFIED 1929-1984

Description

LEO KIELY INDEX CARD SIGNED 1951-60 BOSTON RED SOX PSA/DNA CERTIFIED 1929-1984
Leo Patrick Kiely
(November 30, 1929 – January 18, 1984) was an
American
pitcher
in
Major League Baseball
who played between
1951
and
1960
for the
Boston Red Sox
(1951, 1954–56, 1958–59) and
Kansas City Athletics
(1960). Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m), 180 pounds (82 kg), Kiely batted and threw
left-handed
. He was born in
Hoboken, New Jersey
.
Kiely entered the majors in the 1951 midseason with the Red Sox. He finished with a 7–7 record and a 3.34
ERA
in 16
starts
before joining the military during
Korean War
. In 1953, he pitched for the
Mainichi Orions
of the
Pacific League
to become the first major leaguer to play in
Japanese baseball
, while going 6–0 with a 1.80 ERA for Mainichi. He returned to Boston in 1954. After beginning in
long relief
, he ended up as a
set-up
man for
closers
Ellis Kinder
(1955) and
Ike Delock
(1956).
In 1957 Kiely was demoted to Triple-A. He finished with a 21–6 record and a 2.22 ERA for the
PCL
San Francisco Seals
, leading the league in
wins
. 20 of them came in relief, including 14 in consecutive games, to set two PCL records. The 1958
TSN
Guide also credited Kiely with 11
saves
during the 14-game winning streak.
Kiely led the Red Sox with 12 saves in 1958, while going 5–2 with a 3.00 ERA in 47 relief appearances. He also pitched with the Athletics in 1960, his last major league season.
In a seven-season career, Kiely posted a 26–27 record with a 3.37 ERA in 209 games, including 39 starts, eight
complete games
, one
shutout
, 29 saves, and 523.0 innings of work. He went 63–36 during his minor league career.
Kiely died in
Montclair, New Jersey
at age 54.