Tim Keefe
"Smiling Tim" Keefe was loved by fans and feared by opponents. He won 342 games in the days when pitchers worked every other day and threw 50 feet from the batter. Keefe began his career as an underhand thrower and later adopted the side-arm and overhand deliveries that became vogue in late 19th century baseball. He teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Mickey Welch for eight full seasons as one of the first great pitching duos in baseball history.
Played For
Troy Trojans, National League (1880-1882)
New York Metropolitans, American Association (1883-1884)
New York Giants (1885-1891)
Philadelphia Phillies (1891-1893)
Best Season: 1888
Keefe won the pitching triple crown, which almost certainly wasn't even called that or recognized as that at the time. He led the National League with 35 wins, 335 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. He did this one season after he suffered a nervous breakdown when he hit a batter in the head with a pitch. It didn't seem to weigh on his mind much after that: he won close to 80 games the next five years.
Factoids
Keefe's rookie season (1880) was the last in which pitchers hurled from 45 feet, and his final season (1893) was the first where hurlers threw from 60 feet, six inches.
Born
Timothy John Keefe was born on January 1, 1857, in Cambridge, MA.
Died
April 23, 1933, Cambridge, MA
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: NY1
Major League Debut
August 6, 1880
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1880
Coming soon...
Nicknames
Smiling Tim, Sir Timothy
Similar Players
Tony Mullane and Charlie Buffinton. The only things these guys didn't have that Keefe had was they didn't pitch for great teams or stay in the league as long. Thus, Keefe is enshrined in Cooperstown, and Mullane and Buffinton are relative unknowns.
Related Players
Mickey Welch, John Montgomery Ward ... Keefe and Ward were linked throughout their careers. They were teammates from 1885-1889 on the New York Giants, where Keefe starred on the mound and Ward played shortstop. In the 1880s, Ward married the reknowned Broadway actress Helen Dauvrey and Keefe married Dauvrey's sister, Clara Gibson. Their brother-in-law status brought the two even closer. In the 1890s both were involved in the formation of a Player's Union, which tore baseball apart and threatened the game. Both players were inducted into the Hall of Fame long after their playing careers had ended, and both were elected in 1964.
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1936 |
Veterans |
1 |
% |
1964 |
Veterans |
|
% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1884 World Series
1888 World Series
1889 World Series
The Pitches He Threw
Reportedly relied heavily on his change of pace.
Awards and Honors
1888 NL Triple Crown
Milestones
On June 4, 1890, Keefe won his 300th game, becoming the second pitcher to reach that milestone. The first to reach 300 wins was Pud Galvin, in 1888.
Milestones
- June 4, 1890: 300th Win...
Pitching Feats
Notes
Keefe won 30 or more games in six consecutive seasons (1883-1888). During that span he captured 222 of his 342 career victories.
Best Strength as a Player
His fastball.
Largest Weakness as a Player
His nerves; Keefe entered a sanitarium during the winter of 1887 after he had hit several batters with pitches during the previous season. Like Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan after him, Keefe was very wary of hitting a player in the head, afraid that he might kill them.
Learn More about Tim Keefe
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