27 November 2011

john edward kennedy

this time of year, thanks to the events in dallas in 1963, our thoughts are inevitably directed towards president kennedy.  the other day was the 48th anniversary of his assassination.  there was another john kennedy living in washington dc at the time of the president's death, but he was just a ballplayer.  as a kid growing up in the 1970s, it was hard for me to think of one without the other coming to mind.  it's still like that today.

a year after the assassination, kennedy the ballplayer was traded to the dodgers in the frank howard deal.  this john kennedy, john edward kennedy, to be exact, was kind enough to sign a couple of cards for me earlier this year.  here's his 1965 topps card
and his 1966 topps card
kennedy did not play particularly well for the dodgers, hitting below .200 over his two seasons with the club, but he did appear in the world series both years.  the dodgers sent kennedy to the yankees in april of 1967, and from there he went to the pilots/brewers and the red sox to round out his career.

thanks jek, for the autographs.  and know that at least once a year, this fan is thinking of you.

2 comments:

Jim from Downingtown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim from Downingtown said...

It's just the opposite for me. Whenever I mentally go through each team in the 1967 set, Kennedy is one of the few that I invariably forget about. (Once I get past Ron Hunt, Jim Lefebvre, Dick Schofield, and Bob Bailey, I go straight to the outfielders.)