He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 742 games played over nine seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1956–58, 1960–61), Cleveland Indians (1962–64), and Minnesota Twins (1964–65).

After his playing career, he became the head baseball coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats, winning 860 games and three College World Series (CWS) championships over 24 seasons (1973–1996).

[4] After Kindall's 1956 College World Series triumph, he signed with the Chicago Cubs as a bonus baby, reportedly for around $50,000.

[2][5] Kindall reported to the Cubs on July 1 and made his major league debut the same day, pinch running for Monte Irvin in a 7–0 victory over the Milwaukee Braves.

[9] On July 5, he hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot against Bob Buhl in a 7–4 victory over Milwaukee.

[2] He began the season with the Class AAA Houston Buffaloes of the American Association but joined the Cubs in May, getting many starts at second base throughout the year.

[12] New manager Lou Boudreau worked on Kindall's hitting, getting him to shorten his stride and take more of a slap-style swing at pitches.

[11] Kindall split time in the middle infield in 1961, playing shortstop for a few games when Banks was moved to left field, and filling in at second base for Don Zimmer.

[2][13] Kindall had another four-RBI game on August 14, contributing a three-run home run against Frank Sullivan in a 9–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

[2][1] During his time with Chicago, Kindall made a lasting contribution to baseball phraseology when he coined the expression “the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field” to describe the Cubs' stadium.

[2] He had four hits on June 16, including a two-run walk-off home run against Jim Coates in the bottom of the ninth inning that turned a 9–8 deficit into a 10–9 victory.

[20] The next day, his two-run home run against Bill Stafford in the first game of a doubleheader put Cleveland up 2–0 in an eventual 6–1 victory.

[21] The series victory pushed Cleveland past New York into the American League (AL) lead, though they would eventually finish the season in sixth place.

[2][1][23] In 1963, Kindall began the season as a reserve player, but he ultimately started over half of the Indians' games, either at second base or at shortstop.

[24] Against the Red Sox on July 14, he finished a 14-inning game with a walkoff home run against Hal Kolstad to give Cleveland a 4–3 victory.

[1] Interim manager George Strickland made Larry Brown Cleveland's starting second baseman in 1964, resulting in limited playing time for Kindall.

[1] Kindall was one of about a half-dozen infielders that the Twins tried at second base in 1964; despite the competition, he managed to appear in 62 games for the team that year.

He started 101 of the team's 162 games at second base, but he hit only .196 and suffered a hamstring injury that limited his playing time during the pennant drive.

Frank Quilici, promoted from the minor leagues in July, began getting more and more of the starts at second base in the season's second half.

[1] He did not appear in the 1965 World Series; Quilici played every inning of the contest, won by the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

"While I was healthy in time for the World Series, Quilici was doing such a good job there was no reason to take him out," Kindall recalled.

Kindall only wanted to play in the major leagues, however, and after realizing that all the other MLB teams had their rosters finalized, he decided to look for work elsewhere.

[2] As a major leaguer, Kindall was credited with 439 hits, including 83 doubles, nine triples, 44 home runs, and 198 RBI in 742 games.

Initially, athletic director Marsh Ryman created a position as an excuse to hire him, but he soon became an assistant to head coach Dick Siebert and worked with the Golden Gophers through 1971.

[2] In 1972, the University of Arizona was looking to hire a new head baseball coach, as Frank Sancet was retiring at the end of the season.

[2] Ironically, the Arizona Wildcats had been the victims of Kindall's Minnesota Golden Gophers in the finals of the 1956 College World Series.

[18] The FCA eventually named an award after Kindall, presented each year to the player who best represents Jesus Christ both on and off the field.