Harmon Killebrew

Early life

Killebrew was born and raised in Payette, Idaho, the youngest of four children born to Harmon Clayton Sr. and Katherine Pearl (May) Killebrew. His father, a painter and sheriff, was a member of an undefeated football team at Millikin College, and was later named an All-American while playing for eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Greasy Neale. According to family legend, Harmon Killebrew's grandfather was the strongest man in the Union Army, winning every available heavyweight wrestling championship. Clayton encouraged Harmon and his brothers to stay active in various sports before his sudden death in 1953 at age 59.

As a child, Killebrew played baseball at Walter Johnson Memorial Field, named after the Hall of Fame pitcher who spent part of his childhood in Idaho. He worked as a farmhand in his youth, lifting ten-gallon milk cans, each weighing about 95 pounds (43 kg). Killebrew earned 12 letters in various sports and was named an All-American quarterback at Payette High School; the school retired his uniform number. He was offered an athletic scholarship by the University of Oregon, but declined the offer.

In the early 1950s, Senator Herman Welker of Idaho told Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith about Killebrew, who was hitting for an .847 batting average for a semi-professional baseball team at the time. Griffith told his farm director Ossie Bluege about the tip and Bluege flew to Idaho to watch Killebrew play. The Boston Red Sox also expressed interest but Bluege succeeded in signing him to a $50,000 ($599,442 today) contract on June 19, 1954.

Professional career

Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1954–1974)

Killebrew signed his contract under the bonus rule in effect at the time. Since he received a bonus of over $4,000 ($58,000 today), Major League Baseball rules required that he spend two full seasons on the major league roster. He made his major league debut four days after signing and six days from his 18th birthday (becoming the youngest active player in the majors at the time), running for pinch-hitter Clyde Vollmer, who had been hit by a pitch with the bases loaded by Chicago White Sox starter Jack Harshman. On August 23, 1954, Killebrew made his first start in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics, hitting two singles and a double as the Senators won, 10–3. A year and one day after making his major league debut, Killebrew hit his first major league home run on June 24, 1955, in the fifth inning off Detroit Tigers starter Billy Hoeft, five days shy of his 19th birthday. In his first two seasons, Killebrew struck out 34 times in only 93 at bats, recording a .215 batting average with four home runs. Killebrew also had defensive difficulties at third base, where he played behind veteran Eddie Yost.

When Killebrew's bonus period expired in 1956, he was sent to the Senators' minor league affiliate in Charlotte of the South Atlantic League. He returned to the majors in early May. On May 29, after being forced into action when regular second baseman Pete Runnels was injured early in a game against the Orioles, Killebrew hit two home runs, including only the second ball ever hit over a wire barrier in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium's center field. Killebrew had a .115 average through June 16, and as a result was sent back to Charlotte; he finished the season there with a .325 batting average and 15 home runs in 70 games. Killebrew spent most of the 1957 season with the Southern Association's Chattanooga Lookouts, where he hit a league-high 29 home runs with 101 RBIs and was named to the All-Star Game. While in Chattanooga, Killebrew became the only player to hit a home run over the center field wall at Engel Stadium, 471 feet (144 m) from home plate. In 1958, he was briefly promoted to Indianapolis of the American Association but struggled and was sent back to Chattanooga for most of the season. Killebrew finished the season with 38 games played in Indianapolis and 86 in Chattanooga, where he hit .308 with 17 home runs. He also played a combined 22 games for the Senators in 1957 and 1958.

Calvin Griffith took over the Senators after his uncle Clark Griffith died in 1955, and decided Killebrew was ready to become the Senators' regular third baseman. Griffith traded the 32-year-old Eddie Yost to the Detroit Tigers on December 6, 1958, and Killebrew became the starting third baseman. From May 1 to May 17, he had five multi-home run games and his first five-RBI game on May 12. With 28 home runs by mid-season, he started the first 1959 All-Star Game and was a reserve in the second. Killebrew attracted so much attention in Washington that he was visited by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who frequently attended games, and Griffith turned down a $500,000 offer for Killebrew from the Cincinnati Reds. Killebrew finished the season with 42 home runs to tie for the American League lead; it also tied the Senators' single-season record set by his teammate Roy Sievers two years earlier. Although 1959 proved his breakout season, he was ineligible for the Rookie of the Year Award because of his previous sparse experience. Instead, the award went to teammate Bob Allison.

Kansas City Royals (1975)

On January 24, 1975, eight days after getting his release from the Twins, Killebrew signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. During his return to Minnesota in early May, the Twins formally retired his No. 3 jersey. In that game, Killebrew hit a home run against his former teammates and received a standing ovation from the crowd. In 106 games with the Royals, he had a batting average of .199, 14 home runs, and 44 RBIs. At the end of the season, the Royals released Killebrew. In March 1976, he formally announced his retirement and said he would become an announcer and color commentator for Twins games. At the time of his retirement, he was fifth all-time on the home run list.

Career overall

Statistics and achievements

Killebrew hit 573 home runs (12th all time), drove in 1,584 runs and had 1,559 (15th all time) bases on balls during his career. He is also the all-time home run record holder among players born in Idaho; Vance Law is second. He also finished with the record of having the most plate appearances (9,831) in his career without a sacrifice hit (since broken by Frank Thomas with 10,074 plate appearances).

Power hitting

Killebrew was known for his quick hands and exceptional upper-body strength, demonstrated by frequent "tape measure" home runs he hit in the prime of his career. Killebrew said his first home run in the Majors was his favorite, coming off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium. He said of it, "Frank House was the catcher. When I came to the plate, he said, 'Kid, we're going to throw you a fastball.' I didn't know whether to believe him or not. I hit it out. It was one of the longest home runs I ever hit. As I crossed the plate, House said, 'That's the last time I ever tell you what pitch is coming.'"

On August 3, 1962, he became the first hitter ever to hit a baseball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium, a seldom-reached target as contrasted with the old ballpark's smaller right field area. Only three others accomplished this feat during the next 37 seasons before the stadium closed. On May 24, 1964, Harmon hit the longest measured homer at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, 471 feet (144 m) to deep left center. The ball landed in the far reaches of the bleachers. The only player to hit one completely out of the Orioles' stadium was Frank Robinson in 1966; his blast was reported as about 451 feet (137 m), or about 20 feet (6 m) less than Killebrew's. On June 3, 1967, Killebrew hit a 520-foot (158 m) home run, the longest measured home run ever hit at Metropolitan Stadium and, as of 2022, the longest in Twins history. That event is commemorated at the Mall of America in Bloomington, which includes a plaque marking home plate, and one red-painted seat from the Met which was placed at the location and elevation of the landing spot of the home run. Target Field had a statue of a Gold Glove outside Gate 34 that was exactly 520 feet (158 m) from Target Field's home plate. It was moved to another location after the Twins created the Gate 34 experience.

Honors and legacy

Killebrew was first eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1981 and received 239 votes, or 59.6% of the vote; 75% of the vote is required for induction. While he did hit 573 home runs (5th all-time when he left the game), he amassed a relatively low hit total (2,086, the lowest for any 500 home run hitter at the time), given the years he played, combined with a high number of strikeouts (1699), and a

.256 batting average.

In 1982, Killebrew received 59.3% of the vote, taking a backseat to Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, who made it in their first year of eligibility. After receiving 71.9% of the vote in 1983, Killebrew said not getting in that year was more difficult to accept than the previous two times, and asked "Why do the writers feel there only has to be a certain number inducted each time?" In 1984, Killebrew received 83.1% of the vote and was elected to the Hall in his fourth year of eligibility, joining Luis Aparicio and Don Drysdale as electees.

In 2022, The Sporting News named Killebrew on their "Minneapolis Mount Rushmore of Sports", along with fellow Twin Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Timberwolves basketball player Kevin Garnett, and Minnesota Vikings football player Fran Tarkenton.

The street along the south side of the Mall of America, the former site of Metropolitan Stadium, in Bloomington, Minnesota, is named "Killebrew Drive" in his honor. Banners that hung above the Metrodome's outfield upper deck, resembling baseball cards, showed the retired numbers: Killebrew (3), Rod Carew (29), Tony Oliva (6), Kent Hrbek (14) and Kirby Puckett (34). In 1999, he was ranked 69th on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and nominated as a finalist for Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. When the Twins moved to Target Field in 2010, Gate 3 on the southeast (center field) side of the stadium was named in his honor. There are also corresponding gates for the team's other retired numbers.

Despite rumors that Killebrew is the player depicted in the Major League Baseball logo, according to the creator, Jerry Dior, it was not patterned after any specific player. Killebrew is the model for the logo of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, an organization he helped found in 1982.

Post-playing career

Following his retirement, Killebrew was a television broadcaster for the Twins at WTCN TV from 1976 to 1978, the Oakland Athletics from 1979 to 1982, the California Angels in 1983 and back with Minnesota from 1984 to 1988. While with Oakland, he also served as a major- and minor-league hitting instructor.

Killebrew was involved in a Boise, Idaho insurance and securities business. He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1990, where he chaired the Harmon Killebrew Foundation, which he created in 1998. Killebrew founded the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament, now titled the Killebrew-Thompson Memorial in 1977 with former Idaho congressman Ralph Harding, which is played annually in mid August in Sun Valley, Idaho, and has donated more than $23 million to leukemia and cancer research. Thompson was a Twins teammate who continued his major league career while suffering from leukemia; he died in December 1976 at the age of 29.

Personal life

Despite his nicknames and style of play, Killebrew was considered by his colleagues to be a quiet, kind man. While still an active major leaguer, Killebrew became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and never smoked or drank. He was once asked in an interview what hobbies he had, to which he replied, "Just washing the dishes, I guess."

In the late 1980s, Killebrew had financial problems. In July 1988, his house went into foreclosure and, in 1989, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that he had fallen $700,000 into debt. He also divorced his first wife of more than 30 years, Elaine Killebrew née Roberts, whom he had married in 1955. Soon after, Killebrew's health failed. In May 1990, he was rushed to the hospital with a collapsed lung and damaged esophagus. Together with a subsequent abscess and staph infection, Killebrew endured three surgeries and nearly died. He used a wheelchair for some time post-surgery. By December 1990, his health had improved and he married Nita Patten.

On December 29, 2010, Killebrew announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and started treatment. On May 13, 2011, a Minnesota Twins press release reported he was ceasing treatment and entering hospice care, because his illness had progressed beyond his doctors' expectation of cure. To honor Killebrew, the Twins wore their 1961 throwback alternate jerseys at home for the remainder of the 2011 season; he was also honored by the Washington Nationals, who hung a jersey with Killebrew's name and number 3 in their home dugout. Killebrew died on May 17, 2011, at his home in Scottsdale at the age of 74. He was interred at Riverside Cemetery in Payette, Idaho.

Following his death, Minnesota Twins president Dave St. Peter released the following statement:

No individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and millions of fans across Twins Territory than Harmon Killebrew. Harmon will long be remembered as one of the most prolific home run hitters in the history of the game and the leader of a group of players who helped lay the foundation for the long-term success of the Twins franchise and Major League Baseball in the Upper Midwest. However, more importantly Harmon's legacy will be the class, dignity and humility he demonstrated each and every day as a Hall of Fame-quality husband, father, friend, teammate and man.