King Kelly

Michael Joseph "King" Kelly, also commonly known as "$10,000 Kelly", was an American outfielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, International Association, Players' League, and the American Association. He spent the majority of his 16-season playing career with the Chicago White Stockings and the Boston Beaneaters. Kelly was a player-manager three times in his career – in 1887 for the Beaneaters, in 1890 leading the Boston Reds to the pennant in the only season of the Players' League's existence, and in 1891 for the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers – before his retirement in 1893. He is also often credited with helping to popularize various strategies as a player such as the hit and run, the hook slide, and the catcher's practice of backing up first base.

31 December 1857

Born on the same birth day (31 December): Craig Gordon • Friedrich Robert Faehlmann • Heath Shuler • Jacques Cartier • Jane Badler • Jeremy Heywood • Karl-August Fagerholm • Michael McDonald (comedian) • Nigel Rudd • Phill Kline • Tony Kanaan

Born in the same month (December 1857): Joseph Carruthers • Joseph Conrad • Mathilde Kralik • Sydney Young (chemist) • Sylvio Lazzari