Matt Kilroy

American baseball player (1866–1940)

Matthew Aloysius "Matches" Kilroy (June 21, 1866 – March 2, 1940) was an American left handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. During his rookie season in 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single season record.

Kilroy was born in Philadelphia in 1866. He was one of 13 children of Mary Ann and Patrick Kilroy. He started his professional baseball career with the Southern League's Augusta Browns in 1885. That season, he pitched 447 innings and had a win–loss record of 29–22 with a 0.97 earned run average and 363 strikeouts.

Kilroy starred as an MLB rookie during the season for the last place Baltimore Orioles. He started 68 games, completing 66 of them while throwing 583 innings. Although he had a disappointing record of 29 wins and 34 losses, he set a mark that was unequalled in major league pitching. Kilroy struck out 513 batters that season, the most ever in a single season and far ahead of second place Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn's total of 441 in During this period there were many differences in game play from the modern rules, such as a base on balls being awarded after six balls rather than the modern four, and the pitcher being located 50 feet from home plate rather than the modern 60 feet 6 inches; it was also the last season in which batters could request either a high pitch or a low pitch. Because of these numerous subsequent rule changes, pitching records from that era are not officially compared to those of the modern era, which is variously regarded as beginning in 1893 (when the modern pitching distance was established) or 1901. On August 20, Kilroy and Cyclone Miller of the Philadelphia Quakers hurled opposing one hitters, the first time this ever occurred, though it has since been duplicated four times. Baltimore won that game 1–0 on first inning errors‚ but did not get a hit until the ninth.

After opening his career with two outstanding seasons, he pitched fewer innings and had less success in Baltimore finished in fifth place, and Kilroy had a 17–21 record in only 40 games. He did complete 35 of those starts and recorded 2 shutouts. he was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.