Dave Kingman
A fearsome slugger known for colossal home runs and strikeouts, embodying the pure, volatile power hitter of his baseball era.
Born 1948 (age 78)·American baseball player·Birthday: December 21·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dave Kingman stood at the plate as a monument to raw, unadulterated power. For 16 Major League seasons, 'Kong' was a spectacle—when he connected, the ball traveled distances that left crowds in awe, resulting in 442 career homers. Yet, his game was a stark binary of majestic success and dramatic failure, with strikeouts nearly matching his home run total. Playing for seven teams, including the Mets, Cubs, and Athletics, Kingman was a polarizing figure, often brusque with media and fans, but his value was undeniable: he twice led the National League in home runs and was a three-time All-Star. In an era before advanced metrics, his legacy is the pure, terrifying threat of the solo shot that could change a game with one swing.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dave was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Hit 442 career home runs, ranking among the top power hitters of his generation despite never hitting 50 in a single season.
- Won the National League home run title twice, in 1979 with the Cubs and 1982 with the Mets.
- Hit three home runs in a single game on two separate occasions during his career.
- Was named an MLB All-Star three times (1976, 1979, 1980).
Did You Know?
He once hit a home run measured at over 550 feet at Wrigley Field, one of the longest ever recorded.
In 1986, as a player for the Athletics, he famously sent a live rat in a box to a female sportswriter, Susan Fornoff, leading to a suspension.
He is one of only two players to have hit home runs for four different teams in a single season (1977).
Finished his career with more home runs (442) than singles (441).
“I'm paid to hit home runs, not to write poetry.”
