Art Kores

Arthur Emil Kores (July 22, 1886 – March 26, 1974) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned nine seasons, one of which was spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Terriers. In the majors, he compiled a .234 batting average with 18 runs scored, 47 hits, nine doubles, two triples, one home run, and 22 runs batted in (RBIs) in 60 games played. He played all of his Major League games at third base. Kores played the majority of his career in the minor leagues with the Des Moines Boosters (1911–1912), Portland Beavers (1913–1914), Rochester Hustlers (1915), Nashville Volunteers (1916–1917), Louisville Colonels (1918), Toledo Mud Hens (1920), and Indianapolis Indians (1920). In the minors, he compiled a career .274 batting average with 1,225 hits, 212 doubles, 91 triples, and 29 home runs in 1,243 games played. Kores batted and threw right-handed. During his playing career, he stood at and weighed .

Early life Kores was born on July 22, 1886, in Milwaukee to John and Theresa Kores, both of Bohemia. John Kores worked as a cabinet maker. He played just a month and a half with the Racine club, being used as a first baseman. In his season debut, on April 19, Kores got three hits. He was later drafted by the Chicago Cubs, but passed up the opportunity to play in Major League Baseball (MLB).

On March 1, 1913, Kores joined the Portland Beavers at their spring training camp in Visalia, California. He played 165 games with Portland that season, batting .282 with 24 doubles, eight triples, and five home runs. In the field, Kores played shortstop. At the start of the 1914 season, Kores was moved from shortstop to third base. During the season, The Milwaukee Journal described Kores as "the best clean-up hitter in the Coast league". With the Beavers that year, he batted .296 with 54 doubles, 21 triples, and five home runs in 187 games played. He led the Pacific Coast League in doubles, and triples that season. Kores was also third in the league in runs batted in (RBIs) with 94 that season.

In September, 1914, the New York Giants drafted Kores from the Portland Beavers in what the Oakland Tribune a "secret lottery". Kores rejected the Giants contract offer, stating that he could make as much money in the Pacific Coast League then he could in the majors. He demanded a US$2,100 a year salary from the Giants, which New York declined to give him. According to Beavers officials, Kores, who told the Giants he was only 23 years old, had to confess his real age to get the contract.

Before the 1915 season, it was reported that the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League were interested in Kores, whose contract was owned by the New York Giants. At the start of the regular season, Giants manager John McGraw offered Kores' contract back to the Portland Beavers for a price of US$2,500, but Beavers manager Walter McCredie declined. Instead, McGraw sent Kores to the Double-A Rochester Hustlers of the International League. As a result, the Rochester club suspended him and fined him US$250. The Browns then sold Kores to the Class-A Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association.

Before the start of the 1918 season, Kores was sold from the Nashville Volunteers to the Louisville Colonels of the Double-A American Association. With Louisville, he batted .304 with 78 hits, 10 doubles, and seven triples in 71 games played. He played third base for the Colonels that season. After he completed his season with the Colonels, Kores signed with the semi-professional Lake Shore League. In 1919, he continued to play semi-pro baseball. He also injured his right arm that season. In late-March during the 1920 season, Kores signed with the Double-A Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association. Later that season, he joined the Indianapolis Indians, who were also members of the American Association. Between the two clubs, he batted .253 with 123 hits, 20 doubles, five triples, and one home run in 139 games played. He played all of his games at third base, committing 25 errors in 435 games played.

Later life After his baseball career, Kores settled in his home-town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his wife Alma R. and their son Vernon T. Art Kores worked for a local oil company. He died on March 26, 1974, in Milwaukee. He was buried at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.