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KINNEY - CLARKSON ATHLETIC HALL of FAME

CLARKSON
ATHLETIC HALL of FAME
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ED KINNEY '47
Class of 2008 Inductee

3566Ed Kinney joined other Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame members Jack Phillips and Hank Przybylowski in leading the Golden Knights baseball squad to numerous victories in his four seasons at Clarkson, and finished school as one of the most decorated and well-rounded student-athletes in the University’s long history.

A native of Utica, NY, Kinney attended St. Francis high school and quickly became a sandlot hero, going 13-1 in "Sunday Ball" league action as the team’s top pitcher for nearby Boonville. The 6-3, 200-pound lefthander, caught the eye of long-time coach and Clarkson Hall of Famer Hank Hodge as he helped the Knights’ freshman team finish the 1941 season with an unblemished record.

Hodge then showed Kinney the ropes in summer ball as the young lefty played with his mentor’s summer team, the Watertown Collegians, going 5-1 on the mound, pitching only in the more popular weekend games.





Back with the Knights in his sophomore season, Kinney quickly emerged as the team’s ace, earning three victories against two losses, including a tough defeat in which he threw a three-hitter, in 1942. However, the best was yet to come for "Big Ed" as the 1943 season turned out to be an historical one for the Golden Knights. 3864The onset of the World War II all but doomed college baseball, but the Green and Gold fashioned a schedule of 20 contests against local teams along with other collegiate competition. The "Rube" helped lead the Golden Knights to a 19-1 record that season, with an impressive individual highlight that would make the year especially memorable: a no-hitter against Syracuse University.

Kinney’s time at Clarkson was halted by the United States’ engagement in World War II, as he was a member of the school’s Junior Advanced R.O.T.C., but that didn’t discontinue his ball playing days. After going 17-0 with Beech Grove in the summer of 1943, including another no-hitter against North Utica, Kinney pitched for the Fort Leonard Wood E.R.T.C. team later in the year and was the leading vote-getter for Fort Wood, gaining the "right" to start against major league baseball’s defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in an exhibition game. Kinney pitched three strong innings against 3742the Cards, who were in the middle of a three-year stretch of dominating the National League averaging more than 105 wins per season.

Upon returning from four years in the armed services as an army lieutenant in both Europe and Japan, Kinney was eligible for one final season at Clarkson, helping lead the Knights to a 10-3-1 record. He posted a pair of wins over St. Lawrence (2-0 and 2-1) along with victories over Middlebury and St. Michael’s that season.

Following his Clarkson career, Kinney’s pitching prowess, bolstered by impressive showings while in the armed services and at Clarkson, was requested at the professional level as he was signed by the New York Yankees. He started off his career in impressive fashion, winning three of his first four decisions with the Binghamton Triplets. He moved along in the Yankees system and eventually played with Kansas City in the American Association, one of the top minor leagues of its day.

A repeated member of the honor roll, Kinney majored in mechanical engineering, was an active member of O Pi O, and was voted class president as a senior in 1947.

 

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Ed Kinney accepts his Athletic Hall of Fame plaque from Clarkson President Tony Collins and AD Steve Yianoukos