Mike Kemp

An outstanding all-around athlete at Reading High School in the 1940s, he earned nine varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball, serving as captain of the football team in 1946 and the basketball team in 1946-47. He was also an All-Star athlete at Reading Northwest Junior High School from 1942 to 1944. He played four years of baseball for the Gregg Post American Legion, helping lead the team to championships in 1944 and 1947 and serving as captain in 1947. He was named MVP of the Legion All-Star Game at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park in 1946 and, at age 15, became the youngest player to participate in Esquire magazine’s All-Star Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. He won several Golden Glove awards and compiled a .346 batting average in high school and a .358 average in his Legion career. In addition to baseball, he played scholastic and amateur soccer and basketball for numerous Berks Rec. League teams, including Franklin A.C., Eagle’s Mountain Home, Zeswitz Music, the 15th Ward A.A., Croll & Keck, and Kissinger Travel. He played minor league baseball in the Detroit Tigers system with Jamestown, NY, Flint, MI, and Butler, PA, and later played for Williamsport in the Eastern League, finishing his professional career with a .284 batting average. He also coached Pulaski Post of the Berks Legion League, continuing his lifelong commitment to athletics.

Deceased