Harold Joseph Kelleher was a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player who played four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 from to in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

.

Minor League career

Kelleher started his Minor League baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 career with the Hazelton Mountaineers in the New York-Pennsylvania League

New York-Pennsylvania League (early 20th century)

The New York-Pennsylvania League of 1923 through 1937 was an American minor league baseball circuit.The forerunner to the modern Class AA Eastern League, it was a Class B circuit through 1932 and upgraded to Class A for the final five seasons of its existence. It is actually the second of three...

 in 1934. After a 13 win season in 1935, Kelleher was promoted to the Philadelphia Phillies late in the season.

Major League Baseball career

On September 17, 1935, in his first Major League game, Kelleher pitched a 1-0 shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

 against the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

. Kelleher won his first two decisions

Decision (baseball)

A decision is a statistical credit given to a baseball pitcher.There are two types of decisions: win and loss.In order to receive a win, the starting pitcher must complete at least five innings and leave with the lead. If the pitcher's lead is preserved by the bullpen, he is credited with a win...

 that season. He was also the sixth youngest player in the National League that season. In 1936, Kelleher pitched 14 games, starting four. He had a 0–5 win-loss record with a 5.32 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

. A low point of the season was when he gave up five runs during the fifth inning against the New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 on May 24th.

He pitched a career high 27 games in 1937, winning two games and losing four in 58 innings, but his earned run average was considered a bad 6.63. That season he led the league in hit by pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

, hitting seven batters. His last career victory was a 9–5 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 on August 26, 1937 in a relief appearance. He pitched two and a third innings, beating future Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean

Dizzy Dean

Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

 in the process, who left the game with a "sore arm". After having a 18.41 earned run average in six games during the 1938 season, Kelleher pitched his last game on May 5th.

His career record was 4–9 with a 5.95 earned run average in 50 career games. He died in Cape May Court House, New Jersey

Cape May Court House, New Jersey

Cape May Court House is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Middle Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 4,704...

at the age of 75.