Leonard Leslie "King" Cole (April 15, 1886 – January 6, 1916) was an American professional baseball player in the early 20th century.

Ring Lardner (who reputedly gave him his nickname "King") allegedly used the personality trait of Cole's as inspiration for the 1915 short story Alibi Ike, about a baseball player who "never pulled a play, good or bad, on or off the field, without apologizin' for it.

[6] At the opening of the 1915 season, Cole was diagnosed with lung cancer, and was told the disease was terminal and that he had only months to live.

Cole had surgery to remove the cancerous tumor, and rejoined the Yankees in July, appearing in 10 games through the remainder of the season, going 2–3 with a 3.18 ERA.

The cancer reappeared in November, and Cole died at his home in Bay City, Michigan in January 1916.