Hall of Famer George Kell dies at 86

Hall of Fame third baseman and celebrated broadcaster George Kell, who nearly batted .400 in the Minor Leagues in 1943, died on Tuesday at his Swifton, Ark. home, according to the Hall of Fame. He was 86.

Kell's legendary career took off in 1943, when he led all of baseball (Major and Minor Leagues) with a .396 average for the Lancaster (PA) Red Roses of the Class B Interstate League. He made his Major League debut later that season with Philadelphia and went on to enjoy a 15-year career in the Majors with the Philadelphia Athletics (1943-1946), Detroit Tigers (1947-52), Boston Red Sox (1952-54), Chicago White Sox (1954-56) and Baltimore Orioles (1956-57).

The Swifton, Ark. native was a career .306 hitter in the Majors, but he left his mark in the Minor Leagues before gaining fame as one of the American League's best third baseman.

Kell, born Aug. 23, 1922, signed his first professional baseball contract in 1940 when the Brooklyn Dodgers assigned him to Newport (Jackson County) in the Northeast Arkansas League. After a mediocre season, Kell led the Dodgers to a first-place finish by leading the circuit with 143 hits. After the league folded, he joined the Athletics organization in 1943, where his .396 average with Lancaster led all of baseball. Kell beat out two Class D players -- Bristol's Hal Gruber, in the Appalachian League, and Batavia's Ben Visan, in the Pony League, each of whom had finished batting .369 that summer.

On top of the .396 average, Kell also lead all of baseball in hits (220), runs scored (120), and triples (23) and put together a 32-game hit streak.

Last year, the Arkansas Travelers honored the Natural State native with one of the more star-studded Minor League promotions of the summer -- George Kell Night, an event that also featured appearances by Brooks Robinson and Al Kaline. The three Hall of Famers met with fans and signed autographs as the team handed out Kell bobble heads dolls.

Following his Minor League success, Kell got his chance when many Major Leaguers were serving in the military overseas during World War II in 1944. Kell, who was rejected from the military draft because of a surgically repaired knee, got his shot at the hot corner with the A's.

Kell was traded to Detroit in 1946, where he hit .322 for the Tigers that summer, the first of eight consecutive seasons with an average above .300.

The infielder retired in 1957 and began a career in broadcasting. He served 10 years on the Arkansas State Highway Commission (1973-83) and opened a car dealership in Newport.

Kell is perhaps best remembered for his 1949 batting title when he denied fellow Hall of Famer Ted Williams a third Triple Crown. Kell narrowly beat out Williams with a .3429 average, edging Williams' .3427 mark. Kell also struck out just 13 times that season, the lowest total for a batting champion in baseball history.

He hit for the cycle on June 2, 1950 and was a 10-time Major League All-Star. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 by the Veterans Committee, Kell finished his career with 78 home runs, 870 RBIs, 881 runs scored and 2,054 hits. He had 385 doubles, 50 triples and stole 51 bases.

Funeral services will be held Friday at 1 p.m. CT at the Swifton United Methodist Church. Donations to the church are encouraged in lieu of flowers.