The Journal of San Diego History
Winter 1995, Volume 41, Number 1
Contents of This Issue

Pacific Coast League Padres ~ Index to Players ~ Hall of Famers

Bob Kerrigan, pitcher Born: 9-1-20 Padres: 1947-48, 1951, 1953-56 Bob Kerrigan will always be remembered as the winning pitcher in the final game of 1954 when the Padres beat Hollywood for the PCL pennant. He was a mainstay on the San Diego staff for seven years over a ten-year period that highlighted some of the most exciting moments in PCL Padre history.

[Bob Kerrigan, interview by Bill Swank, 30 January 1995, transcript notes.]

[Holding a picture of a young Bob Kerrigan in a '54 Ford convertible coming down Broadway in the '54 Padres Victory Parade.] I won that suit! O'Doul was coaching third and he yelled, "Bob, get a hit." He'd told me before, "Bob, you are absolutely the worst hitter I've ever seen." I swung at the ball. It went out like a dying pigeon. The infielders went out and the outfielders came in and it just fell in there. I remembered that you're supposed to run to first base and I looked over at O'Doul and he was lying prostrate on the ground. I went to Leo Beck and ordered a tailor-made blue suit. It cost $150 and that was a lot of money in those days. The next day, O'Doul said, "I meant it about the suit." And I said I'd already bought it!

It was the last game of the season [1954] and Eddie Erautt had blisters on his fingers. He was out of the rotation and we were in a tie with Hollywood. O'Doul called us together and asked the team's opinion on who should pitch? Eddie couldn't pitch and our other two starters had just pitched in the doubleheader. I had two days rest. I told O'Doul that my stomach didn't feel good, but my arm was OK. I don't remember much about the game, believe it or not. After the first, it was Hollywood, 1-0. Somehow, we tied it up and Harry Elliott drove in the potential winning run. Bob Elliott then hit two home runs and we won, 7-2. That particular game, they roped off the outfield. Frank Kelleher singled in both of their runs after they got ground rule doubles on balls that went beyond the rope.

I think it was about '53 and Herb Gorman hadn't been playing. He was a good hitter. O'Doul decided to put him in left field. It was about the second or third inning. Somebody told O'Doul that Herb wasn't feeling good. The game was stopped immediately. They brought him in and put him on the training table. An ambulance was called. They didn't have 911 in those days, but he died right there on the table. They did an autopsy and said his organs were of an 80-year-old man. He was about 35-36. It was very sad. If they hadn't brought him in, he'd have died right there in left field.