NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Former Park baseball coach, Major League pitcher and professional scout Bill Kelso passed away Monday night in North Kansas City, Mo.

Kelso’s professional baseball career began in 1962 when he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he went on to pitch in both the Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds organizations. He reached the big leagues in 1964 with the Dodgers, where he spent parts of the next four seasons before moving on to the Reds in 1968.

He spent the 1979 and 1980 seasons at the helm of Park’s baseball program, overseeing current head coach Cary Lundy, who brought his Pirate playing career to a close in 1982.

“Bill Kelso always tried to find that hidden gem, as a scout,” Lundy said. “He wasn’t scared to take a look at the small schools, and that’s how he found Bobby Dernier. He was also very good about working camps and giving back to the youth of the Northland. He was an excellent coach and ran it like he was a manager of a professional team, trusting his players to do the right things and get extra work in on their own.”

Kelso later went on to scout for the Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, where he made three more of his most notable finds in Brad Lidge, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt during the 1990s.

A Ban Johnson Hall of Fame inductee, Kelso started the UMB Ban Johnson team, which is currently coached by Lundy.

“I credit Coach Kelso for helping me get started in coaching by creating the UMB team,” Lundy said. “He also helped me get into scouting with the Reds, so it seemed like I followed him in a lot of ways.”

For more information from The Kansas City Star on Bill Kelso, log on to http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1194144.html.

Services for Kelso will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Vineyard Church, 12300 NW Arrowhead Trafficway, with visitation starting at 11 a.m.