Jimmy Key Named to Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

Dec. 6, 2008

Clemson, SC — Former Clemson All-ACC pitcher and World Series Champion Jimmy Key has been named to the state of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Joining Key in the class are Larry Blakeney, the current head coach at Troy University, track athlete Steve Bolt, former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Lee May, former Alabama All-America football players John Mitchell and Charles Hannah, Tommy Brooker and Janelle Godfrey.

The class will be honored at the 2009 induction banquet in Birmingham, AL May 30, 2009.

Key was an All-ACC player for the Tigers under Bill Wilhelm from 1980-82. He was a first-team selection as a pitcher and designated hitter in 1982, the only Clemson baseball player to be named first-team All-ACC at two different positions in the same season.

Key third-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1982. Three years later he was in the Major League All-Star game and in 1987 he led the American League in ERA with a 2.76 figure. In 1992 he was a starter for the Blue Jays team that won the World Series.

In 1993 he signed a free agent contract with the New York Yankees and was a starter on the 1996 team that won the World Series. He was a four-time All-Star and finished with a career record of 186-117. He finished twice in voting for the Cy Young Award in 1987 and 1994.

Key was the winning pitcher in the clinching World Series game in both the 1992 and 1996 World Series.