John Kull

What do you do, when at the age of 26, you discover you can throw a baseball harder than most professionals? If you’re Jack Kull and it’s 1908, you go to the local minor-league ballpark, climb a tree and wait until an opposing manager comes out of the ballpark after the game. You then offer your services for free to him. Three times Kull was taken up on his offer. Three times he was auditioned in a regular-season game. And three times he was cut after the game.1 While this questionable strategy didn’t initially work, Kull nonetheless found himself pitching a game for the 1909 Philadelphia Athletics a little more than a year later. Not only was he pitching for the Athletics, he was in a battle against Walter Johnson.

Kull was a large man, standing 6-feet-2 inches and weighing 190 pounds. With a “particularly husky” build, he was a “veritable giant” among his pitching peers.2 It was easy to see why managers would offer Kull a game-day audition. And why after less than a year of minor-league experience, Connie Mack took a chance on him, even going so far as to say he had a “million dollar arm.”3 He was blessed with “awful speed”4 but had control issues early on. He conquered those issues as the 1909 season wore on.

Kull’s major-league debut was a resounding success, a win in relief against the Big Train. Not only that, he singled off Johnson, driving in two runs and tying the game that the Athletics eventually won. It was also his last game as a major leaguer, giving him a perfect 1-0 pitching record along with a 1.000 batting average and a fielding percentage of 1.000 (when he handled his only chance in the field successfully).

Despite his major-league success, the rest of Kull’s baseball career was marked by short stints with ballclubs where he had varying degrees of success, most of it unsuccessful. The few places he did have success, he still found himself being let go. It may have been that Kull had an alcohol problem. In one of the few times in his career when he had sustained success, he was let go for breaking training.5 Another time he was let go by a team because “he broke the discipline by drink.”6 Ironically, when he was first being noticed, he was compared to Rube Waddell, another power pitcher with a drinking problem.7 Both pitchers died relatively young of tuberculosis. Kull was penniless at death.

John A. Kull was born on June 24, 1882, in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, a coal-mining community 108 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The only “official” document that is currently available is his death certificate. It’s clear that Kull was an abbreviation for a longer ethnic name despite the fact that his death certificate listed him as John Kull.8 A newspaper story on his death claimed his last name was Kolonauski, while during his career it was claimed he was born Kolenski.9 There are no ideal matches for John/Jack Kull/Kolonauski/Kolenski in the various censuses during Kull’s life. His father is listed as Andrew Kull on his death certificate. No ideal matches for Andrew Kolonauski/Kull are found in the censuses as well.10

Kull, like most of his neighbors in Shenandoah, worked in the coal mines when he came of age.11 His name doesn’t appear in local newspapers until his tryout with Mount Carmel of the 1908 Atlantic League when he was 26 years old. He didn’t make the Mount Carmel team but did pitch in single games with Shamokin, Hazelton, and Pittston, all Atlantic League teams, during the season when he used his unusual approach to be noticed. He was a raw talent – “wild and untamed.”12 He eventually caught on with a semipro team in Shenandoah called the West End Browns.13

Based on Kull’s arm, in 1909 Pottsville of the Atlantic League gave him a tryout in the spring. Frank Eustace, a veteran ballplayer who had played part of a season with the 1896 Louisville Colonels of the National League, was Pottsville’s manager. He gave Kull a tryout when all the other clubs had turned him down.14 Still there were doubts whether Kull could harness his fastball. One paper remarked that he “has not been developed sufficiently to be used safely on the slab.”15 Another wrote that he “will prove a wonder if he can get any kind of control.”16 He was “by far the speediest twirler who ever played ball in Pottsville.”17

The Atlantic League season began on May 6. It was a full week before Kull was used by Eustace. He started the game but was knocked out of the box and took the loss. The next two times he got into games, it was in relief, one of which he lost. Finally on May 18, Eustace put Kull in the regular pitching rotation. He responded with a win.

Kull then went on a tear. His next two starts, he pitched back-to-back two-hitters. On June 5 Sam Kennedy, a Philadelphia Athletics scout, was so impressed he signed Kull to a contract with the understanding that he would join the Athletics at season’s end. Kennedy called Kull “a dead ringer for ‘Rube’ Waddell.”18

Kull continued to pile up wins throughout the season. From June 20 through June 30, he started five games, going 5-0 in 43 innings pitched. He gave up a total of 11 runs during that stretch. When the Atlantic League collapsed on July 21, Kull’s record stood at 15-7 in 26 appearances, 23 of them starts. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was approximately 2:1, showing that he was finding the plate in most of his games.19 As the season wore on, Eustace had increased his workload. From July 4 through July 9, he pitched every day except one. Two of the games were complete-game wins.

Kull was sent to the Fayetteville Highlanders of the Class-D Eastern Carolina League. He continued his torrid pitching. He went 7-2 down the stretch, doing “magnificent work” for Fayetteville.20 With Fayetteville’s season over, he headed to Philadelphia to join the A’s.

He reported to the Athletics on September 15 with Philadelphia in a pennant race with the Detroit Tigers. The Athletics pulled within two games of the league-leading Tigers but faded in the last week. On October 2, with the Athletics mathematically eliminated and playing a doubleheader against the Washington Senators, Connie Mack played players he had sitting on his bench who had been signed during the season. Tommy Atkins, the A’s starting pitcher, made his debut against Walter Johnson in game one. Also making his debut was Jim Curry at second base, with future Hall of Famer Eddie Collins moving to shortstop for the game. Atkins pitched six innings, giving up four runs before Mack sent in Kull to start the seventh inning with the Senators up, 4-1. After pitching a scoreless top of the seventh, the Athletics started a rally with Kull finding himself in the middle of it. With the bases loaded and one run already in, Kull flared a single to right off Johnson, scoring two runs, tying the game. Morrie Rath followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the A’s the lead. Both teams scored single runs in the eighth, then Kull shut down the Senators in the ninth for the win, 6-5.

The future looked bright for Kull. He had beaten Walter Johnson and acquitted himself well not only on the mound but at the bat. But Mack decided Kull needed more seasoning and in February 1910 Kull was released by purchase to Trenton of the Class-B Tri-State League. According to reports, Mack could recall Kull whenever he wanted to.21 Kull pitched one game before he was released by the pitching-rich Trenton Tigers. So began a cycle of being picked up and then cut in short order for most of the rest of his career. It was reported that he caught on with Scranton of the Class-B New York State League. If he did, he didn’t get into a game. On June 28 old friend Frank Eustace, who was coaching Youngstown of the Class-C Ohio-Pennsylvania League, tried to rekindle the magic with Kull the previous season. Instead, Kull went 2-7 and was released in early August. With his release it was reported that he was catching on with a semipro team in Maysville, Kentucky. By September he was pitching for the Alcos, a semipro team from Dunkirk, New York.

In 1911 Kull started spring training initially with Newark (New Jersey) of the Class-A Eastern League. It appears he had also taken residency in Newark at this time.22 By May he was back in the Tri-State League with Trenton. He went 1-3 with Trenton before being released. He stayed in the league with Reading in June but was soon released. In July, Anderson of the Class-D Carolina Association picked Kull up. He stayed with Anderson for the rest of the season, going 3-7 for the season. While his record didn’t indicate it, he “pitched great ball” for Anderson and the club reserved him for 1912.23

That next season, Kull reported late to Anderson. He made the squad but was injured near the end of spring training. Kull headed back home and in May wrote Anderson manager Buck Ramsey that he had his arm x-rayed. The x-ray found a fractured bone and a twisted ligament.24 At the same time, stories appeared saying that the Philadelphia Phillies had signed Kull.25 The stories all seem to originate with Kull. There is no other evidence that the Phillies signed an injured minor-league pitcher who hadn’t had a winning record in three years. He didn’t pitch in 1912.

In 1913 Kull regained some of his former form but not until he had been picked up and released by three teams. He started the year with Newport News of the Class-C Virginia League, going 2-5 before being released for drinking on a Friday night after a game.26 He was picked up by Troy of the Class-B New York State League, pitched one game which he lost, and was cut. Poughkeepsie of the Class-D New York-New Jersey League was next. They held onto him for three weeks until they cut him loose on July 12. Danbury, which was in the same league, picked Kull up. The Poughkeepsie newspaper wrote upon notice of his release, “If Kull buckles down and makes a serious business of the game he should make Danbury a good pitcher.” The sportswriter was prophetic. Kull pitched excellent ball, culminating on August 21, when he pitched a no-hitter against his old team, Poughkeepsie. Kull’s final record was 11-7 in the league.

He was back with Danbury,27 now in the Class-D Atlantic League, in 1914 but then his demons got the better of him. He was Danbury’s Opening Day pitcher and had a record of 9-4 on July 28. He had the fourth-best record of any pitcher in the league with more than 10 decisions, yet on July 31, Danbury released him because “he had a tendency to break the training rules.”28 With Kull promising to “keep in form,” Poughkeepsie picked him up.29 He pitched a couple of games and was released by Poughkeepsie.

Kull remained in Newark for the 1915 season, pitching for the Oxweld Acetylene Company in the Manufacturers’ League. He also pitched for the Montclair, New Jersey, town team. The 1916 season was Kull’s last as a pitcher at any level. He started with Paterson, New Jersey, of the Atlantic League, pitching the second game of the season and lasting four innings.30 He was cut shortly after. In early June, he pitched for the Newark Athletic Club.

Little is known about Kull’s life from 1917 to 1936. In 1935 he returned to Shenandoah31 and asked the chief burgess to “secure a berth for him in the [Schuylkill County] Almshouse.”32 He was ill and died of tuberculosis at the almshouse’s hospital in North Manheim Township, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1936, at the age of 53. He had no known survivors in the area at the time of his death. His body was taken to Union, New Jersey, where he is buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Ancestry.com, Baseball-reference.com, LA84, The Sporting News contract cards database via SABR.org, and Retrosheet.org.

Photo credit: Jack Kull, Trenton Evening Times, May 18, 1911.

Notes

1 “Games Played in the Atlantic League,” Mount Carmel (Pennsylvania) Item, July 31, 1908: 4.

2 “The Man in the Grand Stand,” Trenton Evening Times, April 5, 1910: 8; “Pitcher Kull, Veritable Giant, Arrives in Camp, Big Jobson Is Signed Up,” Newport News Daily Press, March 26, 1913: 5.

3 “Dots and Dashes,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, April 3, 1936: 18.

4 “Banner Crowds for Pottsville Players,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 9, 1909: 18.

5 “Kull Signed Here,” Poughkeepsie Eagle-News, August 1, 1914: 2.

6 “Sporting Comment,” Newport News Daily Press, June 1, 1913: 5.

7 “Interesting Ball Notes,” Mount Carmel Item, April 30, 1908: 4.

8 “Games played in Atlantic League.”

9 “‘Big Jack Kull’ Dies in County Almshouse,” Pottsville Republican, March 31, 1936: 2; “Diamond Dust,” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, September 13, 1909: 9.

10 There are Jack Kulls and Andrew Kulls in the censuses but none are ideal matches for the son or father. The “informant” for his death certificate is listed as “record,” presumably meaning the doctor’s records. The only other contemporaneous document, his Sporting News contract card, lists his home as 50 Napoleon Street in Newark, New Jersey. It’s clear he moved to Newark sometime after playing for the Philadelphia Athletics. He is buried in North Jersey so he had family there. One newspaper claimed his wife lived there while another paper said he lived with his sister there. Again, no Kull/Kolonauski/Kolenski that matched Jack Kull was found in the censuses.

11 “Pottsville Going at a Phenomenal Pace,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 4, 1909: 18.

12 “Games Played in Atlantic League.”

13 “Base Ball Bunts Some Live Games,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, July 20, 1908; “Clippers, Browns, Atlantics Won,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, July 20, 1908; “Sport Shorts,” Pottsville Republican, July 9, 1931.

14 “Pottsville May Join Tri-State,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1908: 2.

15 “Pottsville Team Is Hustling Bunch,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 1909: 17.

16 “Pottsville Has Surfeit of Starts,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2, 1909: 28.

17 “Pottsville Has Surfeit of Starts.”

18 “Kull to Pitch for Athletics,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 6, 1909: 27.

19 Strikeout and walk data were found for 21 of his 26 games. He struck out 91 and walked 55 in those 21 games.

20 “Minor Stars Go Higher,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 31, 1909: 7.

21 “Pitcher Kull Farmed Out,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, February 9, 1910: 1.

22 “White Sox Owners Buy Anderson Club,” Newark Evening Star, May 20, 1912: 8.

23 “Pitcher Kull Located by Anderson Management,” Winston-Salem Twin-City Daily Sentinel, April 1, 1912: 6.

24 “Three New Pitchers,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, May 22, 1912: 2.

25 “Former Steelman with Philadelphia Nationals,” Erie Times-News, September 12, 1912: 4; “Dooin Signs Johnny Kull,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, May 10, 1912: 2. Kull’s TSN contract card does not indicate that he was signed by the Phils.

26 “Sporting Comment,” Newport News Daily Press, June 1, 1913: 5.

27 There were two players named John/Jack Kull in the Atlantic League in 1914. Paterson signed infielder Jack Kull, who had played with the Morristown (New Jersey) Athletic Club in 1913. He played the entire season for Paterson. He also went to camp with Lewiston in 1915 but appears not to have made the team. He returned to New Jersey to play for a semipro team called the Silk Sox.

28 “Kull Signed Here,” Poughkeepsie Eagle-News, August 1, 1914: 2.

29 “Kull Signed Here.”

30 “Local Team Won 2nd Game From Easton,” Paterson News, May 12, 1916: 16.

31 “Dots and Dashes,” Pottsville Republican & Herald, April 3, 1936: 18.

32 “‘Big Jack Kull’ Dies in County Almshouse,” Pottsville Republican, March 31, 1936: 2.