Baseball Hall of Famer, George Kell passed away at the age of 86.
Playing career
A solid right-handed hitter and a sure-handed fielder, Kell was a 10-time All-Star, [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting_average"]Batting average - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:CricketBattingAverageHistogram.gif" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/CricketBattingAverageHistogram.gif"@@AMEPARAM@@en/b/bd/CricketBattingAverageHistogram.gif[/ame] over .300 nine times and topped the league's third basemen in [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_statistics"]Baseball statistics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_chances"]Total chances - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Baseball_Template.svg" class="image"><img alt="Stub icon" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Baseball_Template.svg/30px-Baseball_Template.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/25/Baseball_Template.svg/30px-Baseball_Template.svg.png[/ame] four times and in fielding percentage seven times. He won his only batting title in [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_in_baseball"]1949 in baseball - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] (.343), denying [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Williams"]Ted Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="image"><img alt="Question book-new.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png[/ame] his third
Triple Crown; until the final week of the season, Williams had led the batting race. On [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2"]October 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame], [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949"]1949 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:VW_Standard,Bj1950_2005-09-17_.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/VW_Standard%2CBj1950_2005-09-17_.jpg/90px-VW_Standard%2CBj1950_2005-09-17_.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/0/08/VW_Standard%2CBj1950_2005-09-17_.jpg/90px-VW_Standard%2CBj1950_2005-09-17_.jpg[/ame], Kell went 2-for-3 while Williams was hitless in two official at bats. Kell's final mark was .3429, Williams's .3427. One year later, Kell batted .340, leading the league with 218 hits and 56 doubles, but lost the batting title to Williams' teammate, Red Sox [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_baseman"]Second baseman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="image"><img alt="Question book-new.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png[/ame] [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Goodman"]Billy Goodman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame].
In his career, Kell batted .306, with 78 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_run"]Home run - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg/220px-20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/9/95/20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg/220px-20060825_Barry_Bonds_follow_through.jpg[/ame] and 870 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runs_batted_in"]Run batted in - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame], 881
runs scored, 2054
hits, 385
doubles, 50
triples, 36 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_base"]Stolen base - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Baseball_steal.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Baseball_steal.jpg/300px-Baseball_steal.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/8/81/Baseball_steal.jpg/300px-Baseball_steal.jpg[/ame], a .482 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slugging_average"]Slugging percentage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Babe_Ruth2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Babe_Ruth2.jpg/150px-Babe_Ruth2.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/1/13/Babe_Ruth2.jpg/150px-Babe_Ruth2.jpg[/ame], and 621 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_on_balls"]Base on balls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Rashad_eldridge_draws_a_walk.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Rashad_eldridge_draws_a_walk.jpg/275px-Rashad_eldridge_draws_a_walk.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/2a/Rashad_eldridge_draws_a_walk.jpg/275px-Rashad_eldridge_draws_a_walk.jpg[/ame] for a .367 [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_base_percentage"]On-base percentage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame].
Kell was inducted into the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame"]National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:NB_HOF_logo.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/NB_HOF_logo.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/3/39/NB_HOF_logo.png[/ame] in 1983.
Broadcasting career
Following his retirement as a player, Kell worked as a
play-by-play announcer for the Orioles (1957),
CBS television (1958), [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_on_NBC_Radio"]Major League Baseball on NBC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:62NBCbaseball.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/62NBCbaseball.jpg/220px-62NBCbaseball.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/c/ce/62NBCbaseball.jpg/220px-62NBCbaseball.jpg[/ame] radio (1962), and the Tigers (1959-1996). From 1975 until his retirement in broadcasting, Kell was joined on Tiger telecasts by [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Kaline"]Al Kaline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Al_Kaline_1957.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Al_Kaline_1957.jpg/200px-Al_Kaline_1957.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/c/c9/Al_Kaline_1957.jpg/200px-Al_Kaline_1957.jpg[/ame] as color commentator.
After the Tigers' World Series win in [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_World_Series"]1984 World Series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:1984_World_Series.gif" class="image"><img alt="1984 World Series.gif" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a3/1984_World_Series.gif/250px-1984_World_Series.gif"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/a/a3/1984_World_Series.gif/250px-1984_World_Series.gif[/ame], Kell remarked, "If we get a little pitching out of Wilcox, this team could do it again." The Tigers got very little pitching out of [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milt_Wilcox"]Milt Wilcox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Baseball_(crop).jpg" class="image"><img alt="Stub icon 1" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Baseball_%28crop%29.jpg/25px-Baseball_%28crop%29.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/1/1e/Baseball_%28crop%29.jpg/25px-Baseball_%28crop%29.jpg[/ame] after 1984 and did not return to the fall classic until 2006.
Broadcasting Style
Kell had a relaxed, easygoing "country-gentleman" style of announcing. In contrast to his compatriot [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Harwell"]Ernie Harwell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File
etretharwell.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Detretharwell.png/95px-Detretharwell.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/2/28/Detretharwell.png/95px-Detretharwell.png[/ame], who opened his radio broadcasts with "Hiya, Tiger fans!", Kell traditionally opened his broadcasts with "Good EVE-ning, everyone!" When paired with colorman Larry Olsterman, the opening was often "Thank you Larry and good afternoon." Kell was also known for particular colloquialisms in his style, such as always referring to a high pitch near the batter's eyes as being "up in his wheelhouse", or a hard-hit home run being "tommyhawked" into the stands. A particularly good catch was exemplified by "Speared by (Aurelio) Rodriguez! Whale of a play!" His home run call was simple but delivered with rising pitch: "Long drive...way back...could be...it is! Home run! The game-ending out, whether it meant a Tiger win or loss, usually merited a decrescendo: "Fly ball to centerfield...this should be the ballgame... it is." Kell also relayed stories of his Hall of Fame career in the same folksy style. A favorite story of his was about the incident when his jaw was broken by a line drive off the bat of [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DiMaggio"]Joe DiMaggio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg" class="image"><img alt="Text document with red question mark.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/40px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/40px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png[/ame]. "I got up, made the play at third, then passed out."
In 2009, the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association gave Kell its highest individual honor, an honorary lifetime membership. The association was founded in 1948 by pioneer Tigers announcer Ty Tyson.
R.I.P. George