Kevin Corrigan and author in Rhode Island, 2001
Kevin's Irish heritage comes straight from his Father. Judge John E. Corrigan was born in Cleveland Ohio however; he was raised in Ireland with his mother and father. They lived in Co. Mayo on beautiful, rugged, Achill Island. He lived there until around the age of 12. At that young age his father passed and he and Kevin's grandmother Bridget grabbed their belongings together and headed to Cleveland where they began a new life.
Kevin was a baseball star from a very early age. He played and starred in various local leagues from the little league level upwards. In High School he starred for St. Ignatius High School and then went on to play at John Carroll University on the east side of Cleveland. Kevin ended up starting at first base during his sophomore season then moved over to third base for both his junior and senior years. Kevin actually pulled his hamstring almost every year which sidelined him a couple of times but he managed nonetheless to play the majority of JC University's season. Kevin felt that those recurring hamstring injuries stopped him from ever reaching his full potential however he still had the honour of being named the Ohio Athletic Conference 'hitter of the week' in his time at JC University.
Kevin didn't restrict himself solely to baseball, he also played hockey in High School. He even played one season of Club Hockey in college but was forced to retire by the baseball coach after he found out. This was probably a good development for Irish Baseball as there is no telling what condition Kevin would eventually have been delivered to the Irish program considering both his competitive nature and the violent sport that is ice hockey.
Kevin came to Baseball Ireland though his brother and was part of a new breed of talented players that combined to bring a new 'ethos' of winning baseball to the Irish Team. Kevin was a winner at every level he played at and it was players like him, David Callaghan and Brian Morris that brought a new 'killer instinct' to Irish baseball which would be strengthened further still with the arrival of Joe Kealty, Chris Gannon and others.
Kevin would play a vital role on the Irish team tour of New England in 2001 and also the European Championships in 2002, 2004 and the Irish silver medal winning team of 2006. His talent is one thing, but his ability to play almost any infield position would prove vital to Ireland over the years. Kevin can play third, short or second to a high level.
Time and time again Kevin and his bat have intervened over the years to provide Ireland with key game winning hits and his excellent defence has helped Irish pitching out of many a tight situation. His enormous moon-shot home run against Serbia Montenegro that delivered the bronze medal for the Irish in 2004 was perhaps his greatest single hit in his time to date with the team. That ball actually hasn't come down yet, NASA are tracking it out somewhere near Pluto.
Kevin Corrigan (23) entertains locals and team mates alike in Germany, 2004
Kevin continues to excel back in the States on the diamond, he has played with several great summer league teams in Cleveland and beyond. Probably the best of those that he has played on was the Euclid Admirals, which was in the Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball League. It was a wooden bat league that played teams all over Ohio. It was a league riddled with very talented college players from all over the country. Last summer he played in the Roy Hobbs wooden bat league in Cleveland and excelled for his team.
Kevin being able to keep up a high level of baseball regularly is great news for the future of Irish Baseball, as Kevin will be a star on the team for many years to come.
Other Baseball Ireland who's who entries.
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