Josh Keener

Blessed with ample size and a resilient arm, and a good hitter besides, right-handed pitcher Josh Keener seemingly had the tools needed for major league success. And he got off to a good start, winning two of his first three outings for the 1896 Philadelphia Phillies. But like other prospects in the late 19th century, Keener’s career was derailed by a “fondness for the flowing bowl.”1 The Phillies dispatched him to the minors after the season was out. He then bounced around the bushes for another six years before calling it quits, never getting another chance in the big show. A decade later, Keener was deceased, found dead on a public street after a night of alcohol overindulgence. He was 43. A baseball-centric look at his life follows.

Harry Joshua Keener was born on August 18, 1868, in Easton, Pennsylvania, a bustling county seat and transportation hub situated on the Delaware River about 50 miles north of Philadelphia. He was one of eight children born to railroad worker John Keener, a Quaker State native, and his German immigrant wife Catherine (née Haricel or Horriegal). Only random facts survive regarding the early years of Josh Keener, as our subject was known throughout his life.2 He was raised in the adjoining borough of South Easton, and his literacy suggests that young Keener received at least an elementary school education. By the time that he was 16, his father had died and Josh had found local employment as a laborer.3 At age 22, Keener took a bride, marrying teenage laundress Carrie Kutzler.4

According to a later press report, Keener “was developed into a good pitcher by the Temperance Club of South Bethlehem” in western Pennsylvania.5 The first contemporaneous mention of his ballplaying dates from October 1892; it has Keener pitching for an amateur nine from South Easton.6 The following May, he stepped up in class, signing as a pitcher-outfielder with an independent professional club based in nearby Jeanesville.7 Modern authority lists Keener as 5-foot-10½ and 185 pounds, but he was likely somewhat larger8  Notwithstanding his powerful frame, Keener was not a flame-throwing strikeout artist. Rather, he relied on an assortment of breaking pitches, good control, and sound infield defense to keep opposing batsmen in check. He also added value by virtue of solid righty hitting and decent enough defense to be stationed as needed in the outfield or first base when not pitching.

Keener dominated the other local teams on the Jeanesville schedule, as exemplified by the 17-11 thrashing administered to his old South Easton mates in late May. Only three of the South Easton tallies were earned; Keener helped his own cause with four base hits and three runs scored.9 His record against faster competition from the fledgling minor Pennsylvania State League was more mixed. But even when on the short end of the final decision, Keener usually pitched well against PSL clubs, as illustrated by a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Allentown Colts in mid-July. Keener held Allentown to just five hits and struck out six.10

Once the campaign was over, the swift-footed and muscular hurler remained in town to captain and play fullback for the Jeanesville gridiron squad.11 Thereafter, Keener and his wife returned to Easton, where they took up residence with Josh’s mother and he found employment as a wire drawer.12

Keener was back with Jeanesville for the 1894 baseball season but was soon voicing an opinion that he could help the area’s newly admitted Pennsylvania State League club, the Hazelton Barons.13 In early July, he got his chance, signing with Hazelton. The Barons put him to quick use. On July 6, they were ahead of the league-leading Pottsville Colts, 19-10, after three-plus innings of a slugfest. Manager John Hanlon summoned Keener in relief, and the newcomer finished the contest nicely, holding Pottsville to two runs over seven innings while striking out six in an eventual 25-12 Hazelton triumph. Ensuing press reviews were complimentary. The Philadelphia Times observed that Keener “puzzled Pottsville’s batters.”14 The hometown Hazelton Plain Speaker informed readers that “Keener of Jeanesville finished [the game] and did very well.”15

Given a start three weeks later, Keener was even better, at least over the first five innings, holding the Harrisburg Senators hitless. A “yellow decision” by the umpire then led to his undoing and a 7-4 Hazelton defeat.16

Under circumstances now lost to time, Keener spent mid-August revolving around eastern Pennsylvania. He pitched for the PSL’s Shenandoah Huns and then Jeanesville again, before finishing the month back with Hazelton, albeit playing right field. In September, he played a couple of games at first base for the Barons. As a pitcher, Keener posted a 2-1 record for Hazelton while batting 444 (16-for-36) in 10 games of league play overall.17

In January 1895, Keener was among the players signed by newly installed Hazelton manager Billy Sharsig.18 The engagement thereafter drew the endorsement of the club’s Sporting Life correspondent, who described Keener as “a perfect athlete and a fine ball player … [who] will be one of the future base ball stars.”19 The local press concurred. “Keener, the large, long legged twirler of Jeanesville, … will be no disappointment,” declared the Plain Speaker. “He is well adapted to fast company … possesses a cool head and can be relied upon at all times to hold his own.”20

Keener’s subsequent performance vindicated that press hype. His young wife nearly died in mid-June (she recovered), which interrupted his season.21 Despite that interruption, Keener settled in nicely as a reliable second starter behind Hazelton staff ace Charlie Jordan (25-11, .694). In 33 starts, Keener went 19-13 (.594), with a 3.01 ERA over almost 300 innings pitched. He also filled in occasionally at first base and batted a respectable .278 (35-for-126) for the pennant-winning (61-44, .581) Barons.

Billy Sharsig poached Keener, Jordan, and several more of their Hazelton teammates for a new Pennsylvania State League entry placed in Philadelphia for the 1896 season.22 This time The Sporting News registered approval, advising that Keener would “bear watching. He has all the marks of a comer.”23 The new recruit promptly fulfilled that prophecy, emerging as the ace of the Philadelphia Athletics staff. Early season highlights included a three-hit shutout of his former Hazelton club on May 9.24

In mid-June, Keener’s record was a handsome 12-3, with a league-leading 1.71 ERA.25 He was also batting a scintillating 412 (28-for-68). This prompted the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire his contract. That club was then sitting in the middle of a bloated 12-club National League pack.26

On June 27, 1896, Keener made his major league debut against the Boston Beaneaters. The effort came up short, with the Phillies losing, 11-7. Statistically, the performance of the debutant hurler was not impressive: six earned runs on 10 base hits and five walks, with only a single strikeout. Yet press reviews of his outing were generous. A Philadelphia Inquirer sub-headline declared “Keener Pitches Well”27 while a widely circulated wire service report stated that Keener “acquitted himself very creditably.”28

Several days after Keener’s favorable reviews were published, the Inquirer sounded a cautionary note. The Phillies roster included a set of heavy drinkers, and the newspaper warned that “Keener may be all right on the Philadelphia team, but the chances are against him. If he selects the Crooked Elbow Clique for his boon companions, his record of usefulness is bound to be short-lived, and if he tries to behave himself the C.E.C. are liable to administer the throw-down.”29 For the remainder of his stay in Philadelphia, the local press remained silent about Keener’s off-field behavior, but years later the pitcher’s obituaries lamented that he had sabotaged his affiliation with the club by excessive drinking.30

Keener’s downfall, however, was months off. In the short term, third baseman-manager Billy Nash quickly sent his new hurler back into action. Keener rewarded him with a seven-hit, five-strikeout, complete-game victory over the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 5-2.31 Two days later, he won again, setting back the Washington Nationals, 13-5.32

Keener then lost his next seven starts. Yet during this skid came perhaps his best major league work, a well-pitched 2-0 loss to the Cleveland Spiders. The opposing hurler, future Hall of Famer Cy Young, held the Phillies to a single base hit.33 The contest was an interesting contrast between two physically large hurlers, one renowned for his speed (Young), the other a junkballer (Keener). Also of interest was Keener’s “habit of taking seventeen chews on his gum for every ball pitched,” which unsettled both batsmen and press observers.34 Although beaten, “Keener pitched ball to be proud of,” in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s assessment.35

The rookie finally broke back into the win column with a three-hit, complete-game 13-3 victory over the Louisville Colonels on August 21.36 He never posted another major league victory. By early September, impatient Phillies management had optioned Keener to the Wilmington (Delaware) Peaches of the Atlantic League. Although it went unmentioned in the press at the time, it was subsequently revealed that Keener’s drinking had contributed heavily to his demotion.37

Keener’s initial pitching effort for Wilmington was dismal (13 hits and seven walks in five innings).38 The Peaches installed him at first base, and he produced, batting .375 (12-for-32) in nine late-season games. However, Keener remained Phillies property, and they recalled him for a September 22 start against the Baltimore Orioles. An 8-4 defeat then finalized his major league record. In 16 pitching appearances, Keener posted a 3-11 (.214) log, with an inflated 5.88 ERA in 113 1/3 innings. Over that span, he allowed 144 base hits, walked 39, and hit nine enemy batsmen, while striking out 28.

As he had in the minors, however, Keener hit well, posting a .314 (16-for-51) batting average against National League pitching. Among those impressed with his batting prowess was Cleveland manager Patsy Tebeau, who had previously opined that “Keener, of Philadelphia, ought to be one of the best hitters in time. He is big and strong, and I never saw a youngster hit better at the ball than he does.”39 But the Philles were a robust-hitting club (.295 team batting average in 1896). They needed pitching, not more offense. They never tried Keener at a field position.

At season’s end, the Phillies reserved Keener for the 1897 season.40 But shortly thereafter, they included him in a trade with the Detroit Tigers of the high minor Western League.41 His stay with the Tigers, however, was brief. Ineffective in two early season appearances, Keener was promptly cut by Detroit. Within days, he was signed by another Western League club, the Columbus Senators.42 And just as promptly, Keener regained form. Despite being sidelined for a time by a broken finger on his pitching hand,43 he went 14-6 (.700), with a fine 2.42 ERA in a shade over 180 innings for his new club. His batting average, however, slipped to an uncharacteristic .225 (18-for-80).44 Nevertheless, Columbus reserved him for the coming year.45

Keener spent the offseason back home in Easton, where he got ready for a new campaign by working out with and coaching the baseball team at Lafayette College – the campus was within walking distance of the family residence. But curiously, Columbus did not offer Keener a contract for the 1898 season, making him a free agent.46 He remained close to home and signed with former mentor Billy Sharsig, by then manager of the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Peanuts of the Atlantic League.47 As previously, Keener provided Sharsig useful service. He posted a record in the neighborhood of 17-13 (.567) and threw over 300 innings48 for a losing (55-67, .451) Allentown club.

The following spring, Keener rejoined Allentown, which featured three of the Delahanty brothers (Tom, Jimmy, and Joe). He made 17 appearances and posted a 7-6 (.538) record for another losing Peanuts club. However, Keener was released in mid-July. His baseball career was in noticeable decline, whether the product of age, alcohol abuse, or otherwise.49 He then returned home to Easton, where he played occasionally for a local semipro nine.50

Prior to the start of the 1900 season, Keener’s return to the Atlantic League sparked a dispute between its Scranton and Jersey City clubs, each of which claimed contract rights to the pitcher’s services.51 In time, Scranton withdrew its protest of the award of Keener to Jersey City.52 However, that club disbanded in early June.

Keener then joined an Atlantic League franchise relocated to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.53 This fledgling club proved unable to meet player salaries. The directors’ strapped financial condition prompted desperate measures, including Keener’s theft of the bag containing the team’s bats, which he then pawned for $5.54 Days later, the Atlantic League ceased operations, sending Keener back home. He soon rejoined the Easton semipro nine as playing manager.

Keener reentered Organized Baseball in spring 1901, when the Easton club was admitted to a newly reorganized eight-team Pennsylvania State League. The circuit soon contracted to four clubs, limped along until early August, and then shut down. Accompanying that event was the announcement that “Josh Keener … has retired permanently from the game and is now engaged at the carpenter trade at Easton.”55

Yet Keener, by then 33 years old, was not ready to quit just yet. When another version of the Pennsylvania State League was put together for the 1902 season, he signed with its Lancaster club.56 But this PSL lasted even less time than its predecessor, expiring in late May.57

The last discovered sports page mention of Josh Keener had him pitching for the Pen Argyl semipro club of Rittersville, Pennsylvania, in early May 1904.58 He then receded into the anonymity of private life. But available evidence of Keener’s circumstances suggests that his lot was not happy and that his existence was spiraling downward. Easton city directories list Keener as a laborer through 1908. By 1910, the US Census showed that he and his wife had separated: Carrie Keener was living in Easton with her mother; Josh could not be located. Later, it was determined that he was residing in a boarding house on Church Street in Easton.

On the evening of March 24, 1912, Keener evidently began an especially heavy bout of drinking. At approximately 2:00 the following morning, his lifeless body was discovered lying on Church Street.59 Harry Joshua Keener was 43. Post-mortem examination revealed that the deceased had been suffering from heart disease, and that he may have been malnourished as well. Contributing to his death was excessive alcohol consumption.60

Keener’s remains were thereafter interred in Easton Heights Cemetery, Easton. Childless, he was survived by estranged wife Carrie and several Keener siblings.

Sources

Sources for the biographical info imparted above include the Keener file maintained at the Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York; the Keener profile in David Nemec, The Rank and File of 19th Century Major League Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2012); US Census and other government records accessed via Ancestry.com; and certain of the newspaper articles cited in the endnotes. Unless otherwise specified, statistics have been taken from Baseball-Reference.

This biography was reviewed by Gregory H. Wolf and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Mark Sternman.

Notes

1 Per the Keener death notice published in “Base Ball Brieflets,” West Chester (Pennsylvania) Daily Local News, March 26, 1912: 3.

2 Hometown friends also knew Keener as Beans, but that nickname appeared only occasionally in press coverage of his baseball career. Modern baseball authorities currently identify our subject as Harry Keener, another rarity in the newsprint of his time. To teammates, fans, and the turn-of-the-last-century sporting press, he was known as Josh Keener, and that is the name utilized herein.

3 Per the 1884 Easton city directory.

4 State of Pennsylvania marriage records place the wedding in Easton on June 4, 1891.

5 “Hanlon, Come Back!” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Daily Leader, June 27, 1896: 1. John Hanlon was a PSL club manager.

6 See “Phillipsburg 17, S. Easton 3,” Philadelphia Times, October 16, 1892: 14.

7 As reported in “Jeanesville,” Hazleton (Pennsylvania) Plain Speaker, May 6, 1893: 1. See also, “Jeanesville,” Hazleton (Pennsylvania) Daily Standard, May 6, 1893: 1: Keener’s “record all conversant with base ball matters know and is one he can be justly proud of.”

8 Contemporary press reports often mentioned Keener’s imposing size. See e.g., “Battle of the Twirlers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 24, 1896: 5: “Two big twirlers were pitted against each other …  Keener and [Cy] Young”; “A Good Start,” (Covington) Kentucky Post, July 7, 1896: 8: “Harry Keener, a silver-topped six footer”; “Josh Keener,” Philadelphia Press, June 28, 1896: 4: Keener “is a six-footer, a fast runner and a heavy batsman.”

9 See “South Easton and Jeanesville,” Philadelphia Times, May 28. 1893: 14.

10 See “An Exciting Contest at Jeanesville,” Philadelphia Times, July 15, 1893: 2.

11 Per “Foot Ball,” Hazleton Daily Standard, October 30, 1893: 1. Fullback Keener scored Jeanesville’s four-point touchdown in a 4-4 draw with archrival Hazelton.

12 Per the 1894 Easton city directory. A wire drawer is a metal shop machinist.

13 See “Jeanesville,” Hazelton (Pennsylvania) Sentinel, June 1, 1894: 5.

14 “Heavy Batting at Hazelton,” Philadelphia Times, July 7, 1894: 6.

15 “A Slugging Match,” Hazelton Plain Speaker, July 7, 1894: 4.

16 See “The Umpire Favored Harrisburg,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 28, 1894: 3. See also, “Harrisburg Braced Up,” Hazelton Plain Speaker, July 28, 1894: 4.

17 Baseball-Reference also has Keener playing for PSL clubs in Altoona and Easton during the 1894 season. Someone named Keener played second base for Easton in a September 4 loss to Pottsville but whether this was our subject is unclear. No evidence of Josh Keener playing for Altoona was discovered by the writer.

18 As reported in “Manager Sharsig Signing Players,” Hazelton Plain Speaker, January 22, 1895: 4.

19 Wm. Joyce, “Happy Hazelton,” Sporting Life, March 2, 1895: 9.

20 “Base Ball,” Hazelton Plain Speaker, March 18, 1895: 4.

21 The course of Carrie Keener’s illness and recovery was charted in daily mid-June reports published in the Hazelton Plain Speaker.

22 As noted in “Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting News, March 7, 1896: 5; “All Around Sports,” Pottsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Republican, February 25, 1896: 3; “The State League,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Intelligencer, January 20, 1896: 4; and elsewhere.

23 “Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting News, February 1, 1896: 6.

24 See “State League,” Philadelphia Times, May 10, 1896: 10. Philadelphia romped to a 27-0 victory. See also, “Not a Hit Off Keener,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 1896: 8, which mistakenly transforms a Keener shutout into a no-hitter in the article caption. The Inquirer box score, however, correctly memorializes Keener’s outing as a three-hitter.

25 Per The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, eds. (Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, Inc., 3d ed., 2007), 171.

26 Keener was acquired on one-week trial in exchange for Phillies pitcher Con Lucid. See “Condensed Dispatches,” Sporting Life, June 27, 1896: 4. See also, “Baseball Brevities,” Pittsburg Press, June 26, 1896: 5.

27 “And the End Is Not Yet,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 1896: 8.

28 See e.g., “Boston 11, Philadelphia 7,” New York Sun, June 28, 1896: 8; “Phillies Lose Another,” Washington (DC) Morning Times, June 28, 1896: 7.

29 “Passed Balls,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2, 1895: 5.

30 See again, “Base Ball Brieflets,” above. See also, “Beans Keener Dead,” Philadelphia Inquirer, March 26, 1912: 10: “In 1898 [sic], he was signed by the Philadelphia Nationals and made good until his fondness for drink got the better of him.”

31 As memorialized in “Couldn’t Bat,” Brooklyn Citizen, July 2, 1896: 6; “This Is All Very Nice,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2, 1896: 5; and elsewhere. In a game sidebar, the Inquirer remarked that “for a fellow who got the marble heart from his fellow players Keener did right well.” See “Passed Balls,” above.

32 See “Philadelphia, 13; Washington, 5,” Chicago Chronicle, July 14, 1896: 11: “Keener … pitched a steady, effective game.”

33 Per “Marvelous,” Cleveland Press, July 24, 1896: 7; “Battle of the Twirlers,” above. A single by Cooperstown-bound Ed Delahanty was the only base hit surrendered by Young.

34 “Great Pitching: One Hit Off Young,” Cleveland Leader, July 24, 1896: 3.

35 “Passed Balls,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 24, 1896: 5.

36 See “Only Three Hits Off Keener,” Pittsburg Post, August 22, 1896: 6.

37 See again, “Base Ball Brieflets” and “Beans Keener Dead,” above.

38 See “Jerry Nops Won Out,” Wilmington (Delaware) Evening Journal, September 8, 1896: 5. Hartford swamped Keener and reliever Doc Amole en route to a 21-5 triumph.

39 “Dew Drops,” Cleveland Press, July 25, 1896: 7.

40 Per “Philadelphia News,” Sporting Life, October 10, 1896: 3.

41 See “Minor Mention,” Sporting Life, October 24, 1896: 6.

42 As reported in “News and Comment,” Sporting Life, May 15, 1897: 5. See also, Detroit Free Press, May 9, 1897: 8: “The action of the Detroit club in releasing him was not unwarranted, but was proper. … Keener is a very pleasant young man to meet and those who formed his acquaintance here wish him luck in Columbus.”

43 Per “News and Comment,” Sporting Life, June 26, 1897: 5.

44 Per Western League batting stats published in the 1898 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 43.

45 See “The Official List,” Sporting Life, October 2, 1897: 4.

46 As noted in “Diamond Gossip,” Columbus Dispatch, May 3, 1898: 9, and “Pitcher Keener Available,” Sporting Life, April 23, 1898: 4. Whether Keener’s age (now 30) or drinking influenced the Columbus decision is unknown.

47 Per “Dust from the Diamond,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, May 12, 1898: 4; “Here, There and Everywhere,” Allentown Daily Leader, May 11, 1898: 4.

48 As calculated by the writer from Allentown box scores published in Sporting Life and the local press. Baseball-Reference provides no stats for Keener’s 1898 season, while the Spalding and Reach Guides provide only Atlantic League batting and fielding numbers. According to the guides, Keener batted .239 (Spalding) or .235 (Reach) in 48 games overall for Allentown, while posting a .906 FA in 38 games as a pitcher.

49 As reported in “Atlantic Affairs,” Sporting Life, July 29, 1899: 10; “We Win Another,” Allentown Morning Call, July 15, 1899: 1.

50 Per “Base Ball Pick-Ups,” Allentown Daily Leader, July 31, 1899: 2.

51 See “Comment: Dispute Over Keener,” Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Record, May 2, 1900: 3; “Base Ball Chat,” Scranton (Pennsylvania) Tribune, May 1, 1900: 3.

52 As subsequently noted in “Base Ball,” Scranton Tribune, June 8, 1900: 7.

53 The new Harrisburg franchise replaced the Philadelphia Athletics as an Atlantic League club on June 9, 1900.

54 As reported in “Close League Games on Friday,” Lancaster Daily Intelligencer, June 16, 1900: 4.

55 “Base Ball,” Hazelton Plain Speaker, August 9, 1901: 4.

56 The Keener signing was reported in “News and Gossip,” Sporting Life, April 26, 1902: 7, and “Our Base Ball Club,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Morning News, April 12, 1902: 1.

57 According to an authoritative treatise, the 1902 Pennsylvania State League collapsed when club owners were unable to afford membership in the National Association and thus lost protection of their player rosters. See The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, above at 188.

58 Per “Base Ball,” Allentown Daily Leader, May 5, 1904: 1.

59 Local press accounts of Keener’s demise indicated that he had died “in the room of a friend where he had gone to take a nap,” per “Base Ball Brieflets,” above, or “in his room in this city,” per “Phillies Twirler Dead,” Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Evening News, March 26, 1912: 13. This is refuted by the Keener death certificate which states that the body of the deceased was discovered lying on Church Street in Easton.

60 Per the Harry J. Keener death certificate, accessed online via Ancestry.com.