1915
Born April 8, 1915
Columbia, SC, USA
Kirby Higbe Notable
b. April 8, 1915 · Chicago Cubs 1937–1939, Philadelphia Phillies 1939–1940, Brooklyn Dodgers 1941–1943, 1946–1947, Pittsburgh Pirates 1947–1949, New York Giants 1949–1950
Kirby Higbe played for five clubs across 14 seasons as a pitcher, opening with the Chicago Cubs in 1937 and closing with the New York Giants in 1950.
He went 118 and 101 with a 3.69 earned run average, pitching 1,952.3 innings in 418 games. He struck out 971, completed 98 of his 238 starts and threw 11 shutouts. Across 418 games he batted .153, with 101 hits and 35 runs. He finished with 3 home runs and 14 doubles.
He led the league in strikeouts once, in 1940, with 137. He led the league in wins once, in 1941, with 22.
He was selected to two All-Star teams between 1940 and 1946.
He was born in Columbia, SC, USA on April 8, 1915, and died on May 6, 1985. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1940, 1946 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1941 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | CHC | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1938 | CHC | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1939 | CHC/PHI | 43 | 73 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .178 |
| 1940 | PHI | 41 | 103 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 0 | .165 |
| 1941 | BRO | 48 | 112 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 23 | 0 | .188 |
| 1942 | BRO | 38 | 77 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 | .104 |
| 1943 | BRO | 35 | 65 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 0 | .138 |
| 1946 | BRO | 42 | 77 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .130 |
| 1947 | BRO/PIT | 50 | 77 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 |
| 1948 | PIT | 56 | 48 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .208 |
| 1949 | NYG/PIT | 44 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .056 |
| 1950 | NYG | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Career | — | 418 | 660 | 35 | 101 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 47 | 15 | 135 | 0 | .153 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | CHC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5.40 |
| 1938 | CHC | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5.40 |
| 1939 | CHC/PHI | 12 | 15 | 43 | 28 | 2 | 210.0 | 220 | 109 | 123 | 95 | 4.67 |
| 1940 | PHI | 14 | 19 | 41 | 36 | 1 | 283.0 | 242 | 117 | 121 | 137 | 3.72 |
| 1941 | BRO | 22 | 9 | 48 | 39 | 3 | 298.0 | 244 | 104 | 132 | 121 | 3.14 |
| 1942 | BRO | 16 | 11 | 38 | 32 | 0 | 221.2 | 180 | 80 | 106 | 115 | 3.25 |
| 1943 | BRO | 13 | 10 | 35 | 27 | 0 | 185.0 | 189 | 76 | 95 | 108 | 3.70 |
| 1946 | BRO | 17 | 8 | 42 | 29 | 1 | 210.2 | 178 | 71 | 107 | 134 | 3.03 |
| 1947 | BRO/PIT | 13 | 17 | 50 | 33 | 5 | 240.2 | 222 | 102 | 122 | 109 | 3.81 |
| 1948 | PIT | 8 | 7 | 56 | 8 | 10 | 158.0 | 140 | 59 | 83 | 86 | 3.36 |
| 1949 | NYG/PIT | 2 | 2 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 95.2 | 97 | 54 | 53 | 43 | 5.08 |
| 1950 | NYG | 0 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 34.2 | 37 | 19 | 30 | 17 | 4.93 |
| Career | — | 118 | 101 | 418 | 238 | 24 | 1952.1 | 1763 | 800 | 979 | 971 | 3.69 |
On this day & linked events
1985
Died May 6, 1985
1937
Major-league debut: Kirby Higbe
Kirby Higbe made a major-league debut on October 3, 1937.
1950
Final major-league game: Kirby Higbe
Kirby Higbe played a final major-league game on July 7, 1950.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain