Kirke played baseball locally around Fleischmanns, New York before signing with the Kingston Colonials of the Hudson River League and thereafter progressing through the minor leagues.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1910 through 1918 for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Rustlers / Braves, Cleveland Naps / Indians, and New York Giants. In 1,148 big league at bats, Kirke had a solid career batting average of .301 while playing seven different positions, primarily first base. Kirke enjoyed a long minor league career after his final stint in the big leagues with the New York Giants.
While playing in the minor leagues with the Louisville Colonels with player-manager Joe McCarthy, Kirke told McCarthy that, as a player, McCarthy did not "look so good" to his fellow ballplayers. McCarthy credited Kirke's remark with inspiring him to quit playing and focus instead on managing. McCarthy would go on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manger.

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