Larry Kimbrough

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kimbrough graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, where he starred on the school's baseball team, tossing a no-hitter in 1941.^[1] A natural left-hander, he learned to throw right-handed as a child while recuperating from an injury.^[1] He stated "I could throw them as hard left-handed as I could right-handed, with a better curveball left-handed."^[1]

Kimbrough played in the second Negro National League from 1942 to 1944, missed 1945 while serving in the United States Army,^[2] and again played in 1946 and 1948.^[3] Overall, he pitched in 13 games (four starts), compiling a 1–5 win–loss record with a 6.75 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 14 batters in 44 innings pitched.^[3] As a position player, he played as an outfielder, third baseman, and shortstop.^[3] He had a .265 batting average (9-for-34) with four runs batted in (RBIs).^[3]

Independent accounts verifying that Kimbrough operated as a switch pitcher during his baseball career are lacking, but Kimbrough himself claimed that he earned a complete game victory in 1943 pitching from both sides. Other accounts verify his pitching win but not that he used both arms as a pitcher in that specific game.

Kimbrough later worked for the United States Post Office for 33 years.^[4] He was an inductee of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.^[4] Kimbrough died in Philadelphia in 2001, aged 77; he was survived by his wife and four daughters.^[4]

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference and Seamheads
• Larry Kimbrough at Negro League Baseball Museum
• Larry Kimbrough biography from Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)