Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 09:17:54 -0400

From: Jesse T Sheidlower jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PANIX.COM

Subject: Re: "K" as symbol for "strikeout"



The LA Dodgers new Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo is on tv all the

time here, and when he gets a strikeout, fans line up big "K" letters. I

certainly don't remember this practice from when I was a kid and went to

Cardinals or Braves games. Does anyone know what the "K"s mean (is it for

"kill"?) and when and how this got started?



"K" is the standard symbol used by scorers to record a strikeout.

The practice is alleged to have begun in the 1860s by New York Herald

baseball writer M.J. Kelly. He used the last letter of "struck (out)"

since "S" was already used for "sacrifice."



Jesse "I hate baseball, myself" Sheidlower

Random House Reference

jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]panix.com