1931
Born May 20, 1931
Liberty, MO, USA
Ken Boyer Marquee
b. May 20, 1931 · St. Louis Cardinals 1955–1965, New York Mets 1966–1967, Chicago White Sox 1967–1968, Los Angeles Dodgers 1968–1969
Ken Boyer played third base for the St. Louis Cardinals for eleven seasons before finishing his career with the Mets, the White Sox and, at first base, the Dodgers, retiring in 1969.
He batted .287 with 2,143 hits over 2,034 games, hitting 282 home runs and driving in 1,141 runs, a sustained level of production across fifteen major-league seasons.
He was named Most Valuable Player in 1964 and won five Gold Gloves between 1958 and 1961, and took the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award that same MVP season.
A right-handed hitter and thrower, he came from Liberty, Missouri, where he was born on May 20, 1931. Seven All-Star selections ran from 1956 through 1964, and he died on September 7, 1982.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 7 | 1956, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 |
| Gold Glove | 5 | 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 5 | 1956, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 |
| Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | 1 | 1964 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1964 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 1964 |
| The Sporting News Player of the Year | 1 | 1964 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | STL | 147 | 530 | 78 | 140 | 27 | 2 | 18 | 62 | 37 | 67 | 22 | .264 |
| 1956 | STL | 150 | 595 | 91 | 182 | 30 | 2 | 26 | 98 | 38 | 65 | 8 | .306 |
| 1957 | STL | 142 | 544 | 79 | 144 | 18 | 3 | 19 | 62 | 44 | 77 | 12 | .265 |
| 1958 | STL | 150 | 570 | 101 | 175 | 21 | 9 | 23 | 90 | 49 | 53 | 11 | .307 |
| 1959 | STL | 149 | 563 | 86 | 174 | 18 | 5 | 28 | 94 | 67 | 77 | 12 | .309 |
| 1960 | STL | 151 | 552 | 95 | 168 | 26 | 10 | 32 | 97 | 56 | 77 | 8 | .304 |
| 1961 | STL | 153 | 589 | 109 | 194 | 26 | 11 | 24 | 95 | 68 | 91 | 6 | .329 |
| 1962 | STL | 160 | 611 | 92 | 178 | 27 | 5 | 24 | 98 | 75 | 104 | 12 | .291 |
| 1963 | STL | 159 | 617 | 86 | 176 | 28 | 2 | 24 | 111 | 70 | 90 | 1 | .285 |
| 1964 | STL | 162 | 628 | 100 | 185 | 30 | 10 | 24 | 119 | 70 | 85 | 3 | .295 |
| 1965 | STL | 144 | 535 | 71 | 139 | 18 | 2 | 13 | 75 | 57 | 73 | 2 | .260 |
| 1966 | NYM | 136 | 496 | 62 | 132 | 28 | 2 | 14 | 61 | 30 | 64 | 4 | .266 |
| 1967 | CHW/NYM | 113 | 346 | 34 | 86 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 33 | 47 | 2 | .249 |
| 1968 | CHW/LAD | 93 | 245 | 20 | 63 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 41 | 17 | 40 | 2 | .257 |
| 1969 | LAD | 25 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .206 |
| Career | — | 2034 | 7455 | 1104 | 2143 | 318 | 68 | 282 | 1141 | 713 | 1017 | 105 | .287 |
On this day & linked events
1982
Died September 7, 1982
1955
Major-league debut: Ken Boyer
Ken Boyer made a major-league debut on April 12, 1955.
1961
Ken Boyer Hits for the Cycle, 1961
Ken Boyer hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs on September 14, 1961.
1964
Ken Boyer Hits for the Cycle, 1964
Ken Boyer hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Houston Colt .45's on June 16, 1964.
1969
Final major-league game: Ken Boyer
Ken Boyer played a final major-league game on August 9, 1969.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain