1953 Topps Project - William Kennedy

As the second half of the 2012 MLB season is now underway, it seems like an appropriate time to post another card towards my 1953 Topps set:

Today's subject is William Kennedy of the Boston Red Sox.  He was actually the property of both the Yankees and Red Sox at different times as an amateur player in the late '30s and early '40s.  Bill debuted in the Majors in 1948 though, appearing in 32 total games for the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns.  The following season he made a career-high 48 appearances, including 16 starts.  In 1950, however, Kennedy had just a single appearance (2 innings).  I suspect this was due to injury, does anyone know for sure?  Whatever the case, in 1951 he was back for one final season with the Browns, but in 19 appearances went just 1-5 with a 5.79 ERA.  Before the start of the '52 season the Chicago White Sox purchased Bill from the Browns.  In that '52 season, his only with Chicago, he appeared in a league-high 47 games (all but one in relief) and lowered his ERA significantly to 2.80.

I think the White Sox knew the end might be near for Kennedy, because despite one pretty solid season with the club they dealt him to the Red Sox prior to the '53 season.  He was mediocre in 16 games for Boston in 1953, and didn't make another MLB appearance until he landed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 1956 season.  He pitched a single game that season, giving up 4 earned runs over 2 innings for an ERA of 18.00 on the year.  Kennedy got one last shot with the Reds in 1957, but his career was over after he went 0-2 with an ERA of 6.39 in just 8 games.

Set Progress:  47 of 274 (17%)