New Ulm HALL OF FAME Member

Walter (Walt) Keckeisen

Outfielder-Manager

Selected 2006

Lifetime Baseball Batting Stats Page

            During his playing years, Walter Keckeisen was better known by players and fans by his nickname of “Plumber.”    Some of the old-timers still call him by that moniker today.

            Regardless of nicknames, Walter Keckeisen was honored as a 2006 inductee into the New Ulm Baseball Hall of Fame. Walter's induction was unusual, as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame AFTER his son, Jeff Keckeisen. Jeff was a standout on a number of great Kaiserhoff teams and was inducted in 1999.

            “Plumber” may be one of the last of the “oldtimers”  selected to the Hall of Fame, but the members of the Hall of Fame committee felt “better late than never…”, even though his playing career dates back over 55 years.  Keckeisen began his amateur playing career in 1951 and played through 1961.

            A look back at Walter's statistics shows Hall of Fame numbers.  Walt played with the Brewers in 1951, 1956, and 1960, while he suited-up for the old New Ulm Millers from 1951-53, 1955-56, and again in 1961.  He managed the Millers in 1961 and 1962.

            Keckeisen had some big hitting years: .397 for the  1951 Millers, .344 for the 1953 Millers, and .500 for the 1955 Millers.  Note how all are alternate years!  In that big 1955 season, Walt had at least one hit in every game he played.

            In high school, Keckeisen batted .318 in two seasons with the Eagles.  By trade, he was an outfielder.

            Keckeisen also served two years on the New Ulm baseball board.