Ken Burkhart
Kenneth William Burkhart (born Burkhardt) (November 18, 1916 – December 29, 2004) was an American right-handed pitcher and umpire in Major League Baseball. From through he played with the St. Louis Cardinals (1945–48) and Cincinnati Reds (1948–49), and served as a National League umpire from 1957 to 1973. Playing career The Knoxville, Tennessee native posted a 27–20 record with 181 strikeouts and a 3.84 earned run average in 519 innings pitched. He posted an 18–8 mark as a Cardinals rookie in 1945, with 22 starts and 20 relief appearances; his 18 victories and .692 winning percentage each tied him for third in the National League, while his 2.90 ERA ranked him seventh, but an ailing throwing arm ended his season prematurely, and he increasingly worked from the bullpen afterwards. As a pitcher, since he lacked a speedy fastball, he relied on an "oddly breaking knuckleball" for much of his success. On July 26, , Burkhart was traded by St. Louis to the Reds in exchange for first baseman Babe Young. He appeared in 11 games for the Reds in 1949 and retired at the end of the season. Umpiring career Following his playing career, Burkhart developed as a well-regarded umpire.