Ken Boyer, born Kenton Lloyd Boyer (May 20, 1931 - September 7, 1982), was an American All-Star third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Boyer batted and threw right-handed. A native of Liberty, Missouri, he played almost his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals and later was their manager.
Boyer was one of three brothers to play in major league baseball. Clete , also was a third baseman, and Cloyd , was a pitcher. Three other brothers played in the minor leagues.
Career
In a 15-year career, Boyer was a .287 hitter with 282 home runs and 1141 RBI in 2034 games. Named to the NL All-Star team seven times, he also won five Gold Gloves for his splendid fielding abilities. As a manager, he compiled a 166-190 record in three seasons (1978-80).
After 11 years with the Cardinals (1955-65), Boyer joined the New York Mets (1966-67) and the Chicago White Sox (1967-68), before finishing his career with Los Angeles Dodgers (1968-69).
From 1960-61, Boyer led the Cardinals in batting average (.304 and .329), home runs (32 and 24) and RBI (97 and 95). He enjoyed his career highlight against the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series. Boyer hit a grand slam in Game 4, off pitcher Al Downing , to give the Cardinals a 4-3 victory. Then, in the decisive Game 7, he collected three hits (including a double and a home run), and scored three runs as St. Louis clinched the World Championship 7-5. In that season Boyer earned National League MVP honors, after hit .285 with 24 home runs and leading the league hitters with 119 RBI.
Boyer managed for seven seasons in the minor leagues before he returned to the Cardinals and managed 18 games into the 1978 season. The following year St. Louis finished in fifht place, and Boyer was dismissed during the 1980 season. He was scheduled to manage in Triple-A, but a lung cancer forced him to give up the job.
Ken Boyer died in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 51.
Accomplishments
- 7-time All-Star (1956, 1959-64)
- MVP (1964)
- 3-time Top 10 MVP (1959, 10th - 1960, 6th - 1961, 7th)
- 5-time Gold Glove Award (1958-61, 1963)
- Led league in RBI (1964)
- 6-time Top 10 in RBI (1956, 1958-61, 1963)
- 5-time Top 10 in batting average (1956, 1958-61)
- 5-time Top 10 in on base percentage (1958-61, 1963)
- 4-time Top 10 in home runs (1959-60, 1963-64)
- 4-time Top 10 in slugging average (1958-61)
- 4-time Top 10 in OPS (1958-61)
- Twice hit for the cycle (1961, 1964)
- Had a 29-game hitting streak (August 10 to September 13 of 1959)
- Hit inside-the-park home runs in three consecutive weeks (May 30 and June 7-14, 1959)
- 5-time led league third basemen in double plays
- His 255 homers as a Cardinal ranks him second only to Stan Musial
- His uniform number 14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984
See also
External links
