August 12, 1971: Cleveland’s Bevacqua becomes first Kurt to homer in major leagues

The years between 1952 and 1974 were a good time to be named Kurt1 in America—if you didn’t mind some confusion on the playground or at school roll call. The Germanic-derived first name2 achieved peak popularity during that period, ranking each year among the 200 most popular baby names in the US and topping out at No. 109 in 1964.3 These boom times called for prominent Kurts to step forward, and the likes of author Kurt Vonnegut and actor Kurt Russell4 helped raise the name’s profile.

A less heralded Kurt was baseball utilityman Bevacqua—born in 1947, a few years before the Great Kurt Explosion.5 When he debuted with the Cleveland Indians on June 22, 1971, Bevacqua became the major leagues’ first Kurt in almost 20 years and only the third all-time.6

On August 12, 1971, Bevacqua treated a sparse crowd of 8,8367 at Comiskey Park to another milestone. His home run off Chicago White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood in the fourth inning of a 6-2 Indians win was the first homer in major-league history by a player named Kurt. It was one small swing for a Kurt, one giant swat for Kurtkind.

By objective standards, Bevacqua was an unremarkable ballplayer. He played for  six teams in 15 seasons8 and hit just .236 with 27 career homers. Only twice in his career did he play more than 100 games in a season,9 and his chief capabilities were role-playing and pinch-hitting. He appeared at seven positions as a major leaguer,10 and in 1980—a season split between the Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates—he led the National League in pinch-hit at-bats (57) and pinch hits (17).

Behind the numbers was a colorful character known for tenacity and hustle, and for accumulating unusual distinctions. In 1975, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Bevacqua won a bubblegum-blowing competition arranged by TV announcer Joe Garagiola and Bazooka gum. A photo of his winning bubble landed on a 1976 Topps baseball card still treasured by those who celebrate oddball cards.11 Later, Bevacqua hit the first World Series home run in Padres franchise history in the Padres’ 1984 Game Two victory over the juggernaut Detroit Tigers. Playing all five games at DH, he hit .412 in a losing cause.

But that was all in the future in 1971, when the player nicknamed “Dirty Kurt” by no less a hustler than Pete Rose12 got his major-league break in a trade from the stacked Cincinnati Reds to the struggling Indians.13

Alvin Dark’s 1970 Indians had finished fifth in the six-team American League East Division with a 76-86 record. In 1971 they got worse: Dark was fired on July 3014 with the team in last place at 42-61.15 Under Johnny Lipon, the Indians entered August 12 in fifth place at 47-69, one-hundredth of a percentage point ahead of the Washington Senators.

Cleveland had, at least, won three games in a row, including the first two of three at Chicago. Bevacqua, starting at second base on August 12, was hitting .181. He’d had some starting opportunities at second and third base, but none since the second game of a doubleheader against Oakland on August 1.

Meanwhile, Chuck Tanner’s White Sox16 were on the rise, although they were struggling with the losses of key players like Bill Melton, Pat Kelly, and Carlos May to injury or military duty.17 (Tanner had also accused the Indians of stealing signs during a series in Cleveland two months earlier, under Dark’s management.18) The ’71 Sox entered the day at 55-61, in third place in the AL West Division. At 19 games behind Oakland, they were out of the pennant race, but much improved from 1970, when they won only 56 games all season.

Wood was a big reason for this upswing. The former relief specialist, who had led the AL in appearances for three straight seasons and won the Sporting News AL Fireman of the Year award in 1968, shifted seamlessly to starting in 1971 and went 22-13 with a 1.91 ERA, the first of four straight 20-win campaigns. He entered with a 14-8 record and 1.90 ERA.

Opposing him on the mound for Cleveland was a 26-year-old lefty who carried not one but two names more common than Kurt: Mike Paul. In his fourth big-league season, Paul entered with a 1-3 record and a 5.79 ERA. He’d lost his last three starts and had been knocked around by the Senators in his previous appearance on August 7, giving up six hits and five earned runs in three innings and taking the loss.

The Indians’ lineup also included two monickers even less common than Kurt. At the start of the 2026 season, center fielder Vada Pinson and third baseman Graig Nettles remained the only players in big-league history with their respective first names.

Pinson helped manufacture a run in the top of the first inning. On base after hitting into a forceout, Pinson stole second base, then continued to third on an error by second baseman Rich Morales. An infield single by Ray Fosse scored Pinson for a 1-0 Indians lead. Bevacqua booted Mike Hershberger’s groundball for an error in the bottom half, but the White Sox did not capitalize.19

Shoddy defense continued in the second, and Cleveland took advantage. With one out, Roy Foster singled. Indians shortstop Eddie Leon hit a potential double-play grounder to his opposite number, Lee Richard, who misplayed it. Both runners were safe.20 It was rookie Richard’s 22nd error of the season; he ended with 26, most among AL shortstops.

Wood threw only six wild pitches in 334 innings that season—notable control for a knuckleballer21—but he uncorked one here, and Foster and Leon moved to third and second. Bevacqua then “hammered the wings off” a Wood knuckler, according to the Cleveland Press, hitting a “rocket single” that scored Foster.22  Center fielder Hershberger made a wild, ill-advised throw home that allowed Leon to score and Bevacqua to reach third.23 Ted Uhlaender’s second single of the game gave Cleveland a 4-0 lead.

After a quiet third inning,24 scoring resumed in the fourth. With two away, Bevacqua squared up to a Wood knuckler and parked it in the left-field seats, achieving both a victory for Kurts everywhere and a 5-0 lead.25 “Knucklers are fascinating things to see. Each one moves a different way. I just try not to overswing,” he explained later.26 Paul singled, Uhlaender doubled him to third, and White Sox catcher Tom Egan’s second passed ball of the game allowed Paul to score for a 6-0 Indians advantage.27

Paul couldn’t hold the lead he’d helped build. The White Sox fourth began with singles by Walt Williams and Rick Reichardt—Chicago’s first hits—followed by a bases-loading walk to Mike Andrews.28 Steve Huntz, playing third base in Melton’s absence, hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Williams. Egan’s hard single to right scored Reichardt to bring matters to 6-2.29

Lipon beckoned righty Alan Foster (6-11, 4.13 ERA) from the bullpen. Tanner sent up lefty-swinging pinch-hitters Jay Johnstone and Kelly for Morales and Wood, respectively. Johnstone’s pop to short and Kelly’s fly to center ended the inning.

From there, the relievers were as sterling as the starters had been suspect. Chicago’s Vicente Romo and Steve Kealey stifled the Indians on a combined two hits and no walks over the remaining five innings.30

Foster was slightly more generous, giving up three hits and three walks over 5⅔ innings and allowing White Sox runners as far as second base in the sixth and seventh. But none scored, and the game ended in 2 hours and 24 minutes when Richard grounded into a 6-4-3 double play in the ninth. Foster earned the win and Wood took the loss.

After the game, the majors’ pre-eminent and only Kurt admitted to feeling insecure, as infielder Fred Stanley prepared to complete military duty and return to the Indians. “You gotta worry when you’re hitting .181 and all of a sudden the team is going to be one player over the [roster] limit,” Bevacqua said. “I hope I’m OK for a little longer. At least I didn’t hurt my chances.”31

The Indians, perhaps feeling that the majors were adequately stocked with Jims, demoted first baseman-outfielder Jim Clark instead.32 Bevacqua stayed in Cleveland for the rest of the season, the first stop in a major-league career that ended with the Padres on October 6, 1985. The 1971 Indians and White Sox finished out of the running, though Chicago made a race of the AL West the following season with the addition of AL Most Valuable Player, AL Sporting News Player of the Year, and future Hall of Famer Dick Allen.

The first quarter of the 21st century brought a Kurterdammerung, or “twilight of the Kurts.” According to the US Social Security Administration, the name slipped out of the 1,000 most popular for American babies in 2006, having gradually waned in popularity since the late 1980s.

Despite that decline, a groundbreaking heir to Bevacqua emerged during these years. Catcher Kurt Suzuki played parts of 16 major-league seasons from 2007 to 2022, breaking Bevacqua’s record for longest big-league tenure by a Kurt and setting new standards for Kurts in major offensive categories. In 2026, 55 years after Bevacqua’s landmark homer, Suzuki became the majors’ first Kurt to manage, taking over the Los Angeles Angels33 and taking the phrase “Kurt power” to a whole new level.

Author’s note

As of the start of the 2026 season, 12 players with the first name Kurt had appeared in the major leagues, according to Baseball-Reference. (This includes Kurt Moritz “Casey” Hageman, who played under a nickname.)

The Kurt roll call, in chronological order by first appearance: Hageman, Krieger, Bevacqua, Seibert, Kepshire, Stillwell, Knudsen, Abbott, Miller, Ainsworth, Birkins, and Suzuki.

Acknowledgments

This story was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Keith Thursby.

Sources and photo credit

In addition to the specific sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for box scores and general player, team, and season data.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA197108120.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1971/B08120CHA1971.htm

Photo of 1971 5×7 Cleveland Indians photo of Kurt Bevacqua downloaded from the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 As a side note, this story focuses entirely on the name Kurt with a K; K-U-R-T. Fans of Curt Simmons, Curtis Pride, or Kirt Manwaring are encouraged to pursue their own demographic research.

2 According to MomCozy.com, the name Kurt means “bold” or “brave.” On a related note, only two Kurts had played for the Boston, Milwaukee, or Atlanta Braves through the 2026 season: Kurt Abbott in 2001 and Kurt Suzuki in 2017 and 2018. “Kurt,” MomCozy.com, accessed May 2026, https://momcozy.com/blogs/baby-names/kurt.

3 Based on a search of the US Social Security Baby Names website, conducted in April 2026, for the name Kurt and the years 1900 to present. “Top 10 Baby Names,” ssa.gov, https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/, accessed April 2026. According to the search, 3,159 Kurts were born in America in the peak year of 1964. Name data is based on Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

4 In addition to his screen career, Russell also played minor-league baseball at the lowest levels in parts of four seasons (1971-1973 and 1977). Other American Kurts who were born during this boom period, but did not gain fame until later, include Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas (1956); singer and songwriter Kurt Cobain (1967); Olympic gold medalist and professional wrestler Kurt Angle (1968); and NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner (1971; he’s Kurtis to the taxman, by the way.)

5 According to the US Social Security Baby Names search cited above, the name Kurt ranked No. 297 among US baby names in 1947, the first year on record in which it cracked the top 300.

6 Based on a Baseball-Reference search for the name Kurt, conducted in April 2026. Bevacqua’s predecessors were pitcher Kurt “Casey” Hageman (1911-1914), who mainly went by his nickname during his career, and Kurt Krieger, who pitched in three games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1949 and 1951. Krieger’s appearance on September 11, 1951, was the last major-league Kurt sighting before Bevacqua’s arrival.

7 The Chicago Tribune reported a paid attendance of 8,740 fans. Perhaps some of the 8,836 fans reported by Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference as of April 2026 got in for free. George Langford, “Indians Chop Wood, Beat Sox Again,” Chicago Tribune, August 13, 1971: 3:1.

8 Bevacqua played two separate stints for three teams – the Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres.

9 In fairness to Bevacqua, he came quite close in two additional seasons, playing in 99 games for the 1973 Kansas City Royals and 90 for the 1978 Texas Rangers.

10 All four infield positions, right field, left field, and designated hitter. He never played a major-league game as a pitcher, catcher, or center fielder. (Given the 21st-century vogue for using position players off the bench as mop-up pitchers in blowouts, Bevacqua might well have added pitching to his resume if he’d been active in that era.)

11 As of April 2026, the card (No. 564 in the 1976 set) could be seen in the Trading Card Database: “#564 – Bubble Gum Blowing Champ (Kurt Bevacqua) gum – Milwaukee Brewers,” tcdb.com, https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/77/cid/19722/1976-Topps-564-Bubble-Gum-Blowing-Champ-(Kurt-Bevacqua), accessed May 2026. The rear of the card reprints the bracket of the competition, in which Bevacqua aced out Johnny Oates of the Philadelphia Phillies in the final.

12 Max Effgen, “Kurt Bevacqua,” SABR Biography Project, accessed April 2026, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/kurt-bevacqua/. While the author can attest that “Dirty Kurt” is an easily coined nickname even for the most placid and mannerly of Kurts, Bevacqua’s nickname accurately reflected his hustling nature.

13 On May 8, 1971, the Reds dealt Bevacqua to the Indians for Buddy Bradford. Bevacqua was chosen by the Reds out of Miami Dade College in the 12th round of the secondary phase of the June 1967 draft, and had been laboring in the Reds’ farm system since then.

14 Bob Sudyk, “Dark Is Fired as Manager,” Cleveland Press, July 30, 1971: A1.

15 The Indians’ record at the time of Dark’s firing did not reflect a June 20 game against the Detroit Tigers, which had been suspended in the eighth inning when a bank of lights failed and had not yet been completed when Dark was dismissed. The game was completed on September 28 and resulted in an 8-7 win for the Indians.

16 According to Baseball-Reference, as of April 2026 the White Sox had never used a player named Kurt. This placed them well behind their crosstown rivals the Cubs, who had employed three Kurts (Hageman, Seibert, and Miller.)

17 Langford, “Indians Chop Wood, Beat Sox Again.” Also missing from the White Sox roster at various times, for the same reasons, were Luis Alvarado, Rich McKinney, and Bob Spence.

18 Russell Schneider, “Schneider Around,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 13, 1971: 3B.

19 Bevacqua later described the grounder as a “pool-cue shot” that hit the pocket of his glove, then spun up his arm. Russell Schneider, “Indians Win 4th Straight,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 13, 1971: 1B.

20 Dave Nightingale, “Sox Bow to Indians Again, 6-2,” Chicago Daily News, August 13, 1971: 16.

21 By comparison, fellow knuckleballer Charlie Hough threw a career-high 16 in 230⅓ innings in 1986, a season in which he went 17-10 and made his only All-Star team. Another legendary knuckleball pitcher, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, set a career high of 19 wild pitches in just 207 innings in 1967, when he led the National League with a 1.87 ERA.

22 Bob Sudyk, “‘Dirty Kurt’ Raps That Dirty Pitch,” Cleveland Press, August 13, 1971: D1. The phrase “hammered the wings off” refers to the common comparison of knuckleballs to butterflies.

23 Langford, “Indians Chop Wood, Beat Sox Again.”

24 The Chicago Sun-Times noted that shortstop Richard helped Wood in the third with a fine fielding play on a grounder by Chuck Hinton. Jerome Holtzman, “Indians Sweep 6-2 on 3 Sox Errors,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 13, 1971: 112.

25 News coverage of the game in Chicago and Cleveland newspapers mentioned that the home run was Bevacqua’s first career dinger, but not that it was the first by a player named Kurt.

26 Sudyk, “‘Dirty Kurt’ Raps That Dirty Pitch.”

27 Egan was fourth in the AL in 1971 with 13 passed balls. The run-scoring passed ball in the fourth was his last of the season.

28 Andrews, predominantly a second baseman to this point in his career, made 25 appearances at first base in 1971.

29 Holtzman, in the Chicago Sun-Times, described Egan’s single as “drilled.”

30 Romo pitched three innings, Kealey two; each pitcher allowed one hit.

31 Schneider, “Indians Win 4th Straight.”

32 Bob Sudyk, “Paul Likes Soap and Water, but Not During the 4th Inning,” Cleveland Press, August 13, 1971: D2. Clark’s 13 games with the 1971 Indians represented his entire major-league career.

33 As of Opening Day 2026, Suzuki was also one of two Kurts to play in the World Series for a winning team, as a member of the 2019 Washington Nationals. The other was Kurt Abbott of the 1997 Florida Marlins. (Kurt “Casey” Hageman and Kurt Miller played briefly on Series-winning teams—the 1912 Boston Red Sox and 1997 Marlins, respectively—but did not appear in the Series.)