Frank ("Frankie") Kelleher
OF
1938, 1940, 1944, 1946-54
Oakland, Seattle, Hollywood

In the days when there was no television, and the major league didn't have teams West of the Mississippi, the stars of the Pacific Coast League were big news, particularly in Hollywood, California, where the world's attention was focused on the rise of the motion picture.

There was no more popular, and possibly infamous, player for the Hollywood Stars than outfielder Frankie Kelleher.

Born Francis Eugene Kelleher in San Francisco, California on August 22, 1916, the 6'2", 198 lb. right-handed outfielder was one of a minority of baseball players to attend college. At St. Mary's College, he was the captain of the baseball team.

Kelleher enters the 2004 class of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame still reigning as the all-time PCL home run king with 234 round trips. He was the top single season round-tripper in the PCL with 29 in 1944 and 40 in 1950. Frankie had a lifetime batting average of .284.

In his 1938 debut with Oakland, he batted a nifty .750, three for four, with one home run.

Data on his 1939 season was not available, although he did play winter baseball in the Alameda League in the bay area.

In 1940, Frankie played for the PCL pennant-winning Seattle Rainiers, skippered by manager Jack Lelivelt.

Kelleher shipped out for Newark, one of two clubs farming for the Yankees at that time. He made the 1941 Bears roster. He led Bears offensive charge in a 100-54 season for the team. Frankie also led the league with 37 home runs and 125 RBIs that season, winning the International League pennant.

In 1942, Kelleher was signed to the major league Cincinnati Reds, filling in a gap caused by the military draft of players into World War II. He appeared in 38 games with the Reds with a meager .118 batting average, three home runs and just 20 hits in 110 at-bats.

The following year he appeared again, briefly, with the Reds. In nine games he only had ten at-bats and a dismal .000 average.

While stardom in the MLB was not to be, Frankie was a star of diamond, tabloids and screen in Hollywood.

When he returned to the PCL he finished second overall for the PCL batting title in 1944 in a slug-out with Les Scarsella of Oakland. Three times in his career Kelleher had over 100RBIs.

Kelleher was out of commission for 1945.

In 1946, Kelleher returned to the PCL's Hollywood Stars to begin the long, last leg of his career, and a love affair with the fans of Los Angeles. The powerhouse slugger was possibly one of the most beloved figures ever to grace a minor league field.

The mild-mannered Kelleher became infamous when he began the "Brawl of the Century," as some described it, between the Angels and the Stars on a hot Sunday in August, 1953 at Gilmore Field in Hollywood (Where CBS Television City now stands).

The fight lasted for more than half an hour, and had to be subdued by a sea of policemen from the LAPD. Tensions remained so high that the policemen guarded both dugouts, and would only allow batters or the nine men taking the field out to play.

Trouble began when Kelleher took a pitch in the back from Angels pitcher Joe Hatten after two close brush-backs. Instead of taking his base, Kelleher dropped his bat, walked out to the mound, and told off Hatten. Dugouts cleared, fists started flying, and a full-on donnybrook ensued.

	Kelleher was tossed out of the game and teammate Ted Beard was called in to run for him. Later, Beard tried to steal third with a high, spikes-out slide into Angels third basemen Murray Franklin. Franklin was hit in the arm, chest and elbow. He began wailing on Beard, setting off another row that saw both players ejected and three more injured. The bad blood set off a feud between the LA Angels and the Hollywood Stars that would last until the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn and drove the PCL out of town.
Kelleher seen in a local paper's account of the brawl taking a swing at Hatten. Asked by the police if Hatten wanted to press charges, the Angels hurler simply replied "No."
Joining the likes of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio, in a more humble way, Kelleher used his local sports fame to break into Hollywood. He did a bit part as himself in the 1950 Fred Astaire musical "Three Little Words." Kelleher enjoyed a 22 year career, mostly in the minor leagues. Over his career in three leagues, he banged in 358 minor league home runs, and 3 with Cincinnati.