Beauchamp dies at 68
Former Major Leaguer was longtime coach for Braves

Associated Press

12/27/2007 9:45 PM ET

ATLANTA -- Former Major League player and longtime Atlanta Braves coach Jim Beauchamp has died of leukemia. He was 68.
"As a son, my fondest memory of him was how much he told us he loved us," Kash Beauchamp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "As tough as he was as a competitor and a baseball man, he had a very soft side when it came to being a father."

A memorial service will be held Jan. 5 at Southwest Christian Church, said Brandon Roberts, a funeral director at Parrott Funeral Home in Fairburn, Ga. There will also be services in Phenix City, Ala., and Grove, Okla.

Beauchamp was the bench coach for the Braves between 1991-98, during the team's transformation from a last-place team to a perennial contender. He was a part of the team's World Series championship in 1995 and most recently served as supervisor of the club's Minor League field operations.

Beauchamp spent 22 years with the Braves as part of a 50-year career in baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues.

Beauchamp, who was born on Aug. 21, 1939, in Vinita, Okla., had a 10-year Major League playing career as a first baseman and an outfielder with St. Louis, Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Cincinnati and the New York Mets, playing his final Major League game for the Mets in 1973. His career batting average was .231, with 14 home runs.

Beauchamp, who died Tuesday, is survived by his wife and five children.