by Jan Dixon
Special to The Leaven
LEAWOOD — What did Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron and Mike Sweeney all have in common? Their Catholic faith and careers in baseball.
Fred Kipp, parishioner at Church of the Nativity in Leawood, shares that connection. From small-town baseball to the big leagues, a Catholic kid from Kansas took his faith on the road in search of a baseball career.
While growing up in Piqua, Kipp lived directly across the road from St. Martin Church, where he regularly attended Mass and received instruction from the Precious Blood Sisters.
In those days, in small-town America, baseball was a passion of both the old and young alike.
“I started playing around the age of four,” said Kipp. “When the weather was bad, we played in an empty railroad box car with a rubber ball.”
After playing sports in high school, he landed a basketball scholarship at Kansas State University in Manhattan and was coached by the legendary Tex Winter. Following his freshman year at KSU, Kipp transferred to Emporia State University, then known as Kansas State Teachers College, so he could play both basketball and baseball.
In addition to sports and classes, Kipp worked as a groundskeeper for the local country club. There were constants in Kipp’s life up to that point: his determination and his faith.
“I majored in education and math, because math was easier for me than PE,” said Kipp. “And I always went to Mass.”
Following graduation, Kipp was drafted into the army as the Korean War was winding down. His unit had to march 90 miles from Fort Rucker in Alabama to Fort Benning in Georgia. But Kipp missed the march by volunteering to go on ahead in order to play baseball.
He served for 21 months and was honorably discharged. And his professional baseball career began in earnest when he started playing semipro ball in Kansas, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Kipp made it to the minor leagues and played in various cities across the country and in Cuba, Japan, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. According to Wikipedia, Kipp was known as a “knuckleball artist.”
No matter where the team was playing, Kipp found the nearest Catholic Church. Usually about a third of the team was Catholic, he said, and attended Mass together on Sundays. Once in Columbus, Ohio, for a series of games, one of the guys said, “Let’s all go up to the cathedral for confessions.” And they went.
“It was a Catholic brotherhood. And we practiced our faith together,” he said.
Through hard work, determination and faith, he finally played for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field and then the Dodgers at the Los Angeles Colosseum. In 1960, Kipp played one season for the New York Yankees. He did not pitch well and was sent back down to the minors. Kipp decided it was time to trade his sweat socks for a briefcase and start a business career.
With a degree in mathematics and demonstrated perseverance, he landed a position first with an insurance company and then in the construction business. His strong faith kept him active in the church.
Kipp married in 1961 and raised six children at Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park. When his wife became ill and died, he found strong support in his parish family. Kipp continued raising the children on his own and remaining active at Queen.
But his path eventually crossed with a teacher at Holy Cross in Overland Park, Lorraine Gillis. The Holy Cross school secretary had urged Gillis to attend the singles group at Queen of the Holy Rosary specifically in order to meet a great guy named Kipp.
She went. They met. They dated. And they married in 1990.
As a valued southpaw (left-handed pitcher), Kipp played with some all-time greats like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle. He admired their skills but did not hold them as personal heroes. His first hero was a fellow at the country club in Emporia who lent him a car on Sundays to drive to Mass when he was in college. His current hero is his daughter-in-law, who was baptized with his granddaughter at the Easter Vigil this year.
Kipp continues to serve in the Knights of Columbus, an organization of which he has been a member for nearly 70 years and faithfully attends a 6 a.m. men’s Bible study. He always attended daily Mass while still driving, but now relies on his brotherhood of parishioners for rides to church. And Sunday Mass is a given.
At age 93, Kipp is a fan of the KC Royals baseball team.
“Baseball is good for the community as it brings people together,” believes Kipp. “And the Catholic Church is good for me.”
Fred Kipp’s Career
Pitcher
Born: Oct. 1, 1931
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB Debut: Sept. 10, 1957, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB Appearance: May 8, 1960, for the New York Yankees
MLB Statistics: Win-loss record 6-7
Earned run average 5.08
Strikeouts 64
