Kenton Charles Tekulve is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher known as Kent Tekulve. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) and primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds as well. Kent’s pitching was unusual; for this, he is known as a workhorse relief pitcher. Further, Kent holds several records for the number of games pitched and innings pitched. His active years as a player were between 1974-1989.
After retiring from the baseball team, Kent joined as a broadcaster through the Philadelphia Phillies television broadcast team. He has covered pre-season games and real matches. In 1983, he also appeared in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episode to explain how people play baseball. Kent earned awards like an All-star in 1980 and the World Series Championship in 1979.
Kent Tekulve Early Life:
| Full Real Name | Kenton Charles “Teke” Tekulve |
| Family Name | Tekulve |
| Profession | Baseball Player |
| Date Of Birth | March 5th, 1947 |
| Age | 75 years |
| Birthday | March 5th |
| Year Of Birth | 1947 |
| Nick Name | The Rubberband Man |
| Current Residence | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PA) |
| Country | USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Christianity |
Kent was born on 5th March 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently, he is 75. His father helped both his sons to develop early-age sports habits. Thus, both boys started pitching by the age of nine and eleven. Their father did the coaching, and soon the brothers appeared in the Little League.
Kent Tekulve Family Background:
| Father | Henry Tekulve |
| Mother | Edna Tekulve |
| Brothers | 1 |
| Sisters | None |
Kent’s father (Henry Tekulve) and mother (Edna Tekulve) supported his career decisions. Kent has a younger brother Jerry Tekulve.
Kent Tekulve Education:
| Highest Qualification | Graduation |
| University | None |
| College | Marietta College |
| High School | Hamilton Catholic High school |
Kent, after his elementary school, attended Hamilton Catholic High school. He was a player on the school baseball team. During this duration, Kent played in the Babe Ruth League and was always the pitcher.
After his high school graduation in 1966, Kent enrolled in Marietta College, located in Ohio and graduated in 1969. During his college years, he developed his skill of side-arm style into roundhouse delivery and throughout his senior year, Kent maintained a 0.94 ERA. He was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference second team.
Kent Tekulve Physical stats:
| Weight In Kg | N/A |
| Height In Feet | 5’ 8” |
| Hair Color | Greyish |
| Eye Color | Brown |
Kent stands 5′ 8″ and has brown eyes. Even at the age of 75, he is fit and active.
Kent Tekulve Birth Signs:
| Sun Sign | Pisces |
| Star Sign | Pisces |
| Birth Sign Duality | Passive |
| Birth Sign Modality | Mutable |
Kent’s sun and star sign are Pisces. His birth sign element is Water and Neptune is his ruling planet.
Kent Tekulve Net worth:
| Net Worth | $10 million |
| Annual Earnings | N/A |
| Source Of Income | Baseball player |
Kent is a professional baseball player, and this income has a big hand in his Net worth. Though detailed information on assets is unavailable, his estimated Net worth is around $10 million.
Kent Tekulve Relationship Status:
| Spouse Name | Linda Taylor |
| Sons | 1 |
| Daughters | 1 |
| Marital Status | married |
Kent has been married to Linda Taylor since 30th October 1976. He is a caring husband and a loving father. The couple has a daughter, Taylor Tekulve, and a son Chris Tekulve.
Kent Tekulve Career:
After Kent’s graduation in 1969, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates and until 1985, he was with the organization. In July 1969, he was asked to try at Forbes Field. However, Kent failed to try his pitching during the game because of some running ability issues. After that match, a Pirates scout named Dick Coury signed him, and he got a chance to play in the Geneva Pirates of the New York-Penn League. Further, Kent also played with the Carolina League at Salem, Virginia. After two seasons, he played in Sherbrooke of the Double-A Eastern League, where he spent two seasons.
Later after a few seasons in the league and gathering victory in 12 games on 20th May 1974, Kent made a major league debut against the Montreal Expos. in the 4–2 loss, he pitched one inning and allowed one hit. In 1975 he appeared in the National League Championship Series against the Reds. After all these seasons, Kent stood as one of the top players in the Pirates and made a record of 2.45 ERA and nine saves in 64 games.
Kent’s best two seasons were between 1978 to 1979, when he saved 31 games and posted ERAs of 2.33 and 2.75, respectively. Further in the 1979 World Series, he saved three games, including the winning game where the Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles by 4–3. In 1980, Kent was selected as an All-Star. He faced a hard time then because he went on with ten games losing streak. Then in 1981, against Chicago, Kent broke the streak. Further, he played a four-year deal with the Pirates in 1983 but wasn’t a dominant closer. Later, he became a free agent, resulting in his last season with the Pirates.
On 20th April 1985, Kent was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Al Holland and Frankie Griffin, a minor leaguer. Further, in his 40s, he continued to be an effective reliever and spent three seasons with the Phillies. By his tenure with the Phillies, Kent had 90 appearances. After the 1988 season, the team didn’t offer him a new contract; thus, he left the team.
Kent, after that, played as a nonroster player for the Cincinnati Reds in the spring training. Later he signed a year contract with the team, which planned to keep Kent as a setup man for John Franco. On 17th July 1989, he finally retired by being featured in 37 games for the team.
With his retirement announcement, many fans were disheartened, but Kent’s love for sports was immense as an athlete. So he decided to stand in the same line as a broadcaster rather than return to the field. In 1991, he started his new journey as a broadcaster on the Philadelphia Phillies television broadcast team. Till 1997, he spent six years with the Phillies, covering their pre-season games and real matches. Following it, Kent moved towards the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League. He starred as the advance scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates during his tenure.
Along with these, in 2008, Kent also started working as an analyst for AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. From 2008 to 2017, he covered all the historical moments, including the regular season. On 5th September, towards the end of the 2017 season, Kent announced his retirement from broadcasting. Later, he was the guest instructor in Spring Training.
Kent is the only pitcher in history, along with Mike Marshall, to appear in 90 or more games with more than one feat. Considering his age of 40, he is also the oldest pitcher to appear in 90 games and has nine successive days pitching record. Further, in 1988, Kent was honored by the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium and received an oil painting of himself, a crystal bowl, a golf cart, and a lifetime pass to Pirates games. Also, Kent’s wife Linda was honored with a gold necklace with 27 diamonds.
Kent Tekulve Social Appearance:
Kent’s Twitter profile has more than 970 followers. He is not so active on other social media platforms.
Summary!
Kent Tekulve has set a milestone in baseball sports history and will always be honored. His hardships, sports love, teamwork qualities and, most importantly, sportsmanship are visible throughout his career. Our warm wishes are always with him.
