Richard Martin Keough (born April 14, 1934 in Oakland, California) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1956 through 1966 for the Boston Red Sox (1956-60), Cleveland Indians (1960), Washington Senators (1961), Cincinnati Reds (1962-65), Atlanta Braves (1966) and Chicago Cubs (1966). In 1968, he played in Japan for the Nankai Hawks.

Keough was a multi-sport star at Pomona High School. He was named the CIF Southern Section football player of the year in 1951 after leading the school to its only football championship. Months later, he was awarded the Southern Section's baseball co-player of the year, sharing the honor with Bill Richardson of Citrus High School. In 1952 he was named by the LA Examiner as overall Southern California Prep "Athlete of the Year". "Keough batted and threw left-handed. Coming from a baseball family, he is the older brother of Joe Keough and father of Matt Keough. Matt also played in Japan, making them one of the few American father-son duos to both play there.

Keough survived more than a decade in the majors without ever winning a full-time job. Mainly a defensive replacement in the outfield, he owned a decent throwing arm and showed some power at the plate, but never hit consistently enough to earn regular playing time. He debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1956, sharing outfield work with Ted Williams, Jim Piersall and Jackie Jensen, between others, until the 1960 midseason when he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. At the end of the season, he was selected by the new Washington Senators in the expansion draft. His most productive season came in 1961 with the Senators, when he posted career numbers in hits (97), doubles (18), triples (9), home runs (9), runs (57), RBI (34), stolen bases (12), and games played (135). In 1962, he hit a career-high .278 for the Cincinnati Reds. He also played with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.

In an 11-season career, Keough was a .242 hitter with 43 home runs and 176 RBI in 841 games.

He has remained in the game as a scout since the end of his playing days, and is a longtime member of the scouting staff of the St. Louis Cardinals.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]