John Michael Kume was born on Wednesday, May 19, 1926, in Premier, West Virginia. He usually went by his middle name "Mike." He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948, and was 29 years old when he broke into the big leagues on August 26, 1955, with the Kansas City Athletics. He pitched 66 innings for the Solons in 1958, winning 5 games and losing 4, with an era of 3.55.
