Baseball Great Doug Kingsmore Passes
CLEMSON, S.C. – Former Clemson All-ACC baseball player Doug Kingsmore passed away on Tuesday evening in Greenville, S.C. The successful businessman was a co-captain of the Tigers’ first ACC championship team in any sport when Clemson won the 1954 ACC title.
Kingsmore was a student-athlete at Clemson from 1951-54. He had a breakout season as a senior in 1954, when he batted .371 and became the first Tiger to hit 10 home runs in a season. His 10 long balls led the ACC, and he also led the conference in runs with 25 in just 24 games. He totaled 27 RBIs as well.
During that 1954 season, Kingsmore hit 10 home runs in just 89 at-bats. His one homer every 8.9 at-bats stood as the school record for 68 years. In his career, Kingsmore had a .346 batting average and .646 slugging percentage. He also had a .996 fielding percentage as an outfielder.
In addition to winning the ACC championship, the Tigers received a bid to the NCAA District Tournament in 1954, just the third NCAA Tourney bid in program history.
Kingsmore came to Clemson from Union, S.C., where he earned 10 letters at Union High School. He lettered four times in baseball, three times in football and three times in basketball.
Kingsmore signed a professional contract (there was no MLB draft until 1965) with the Baltimore Orioles after the 1954 season and played professional baseball for three years in the Tri-State, Carolina and Texas Leagues.
He went into the business world after his playing career and also served on the Clemson University Board of Trustees for 12 years. He was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1985 as well.
Following a $1 million donation to the athletic department and in recognition of his significant contributions to the baseball program both on and off the field, Clemson’s baseball stadium, formerly known as Tiger Field, was renamed to Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
