Vince McNamara, 92, Baseball Preservationist

JUNE 12, 2000

     Batavia, N.Y. (AP)- Vince McNamara, credited for preserving baseball's tradition in New York and Pennsylvania, has died at the age of 92. He died Sunday after a long illness at the state Veterans Home.

     McNamara was chairman of baseball's rules committee in the 1970s and served alongside Hall of Famers Joe Cronin, Bill Terry and Hank Greenberg.

     McNamara is credited for helping the New York-Pennsylvania League survive during its lean years in the 1950s and '60s. Today, the league has a division named after its former commissioner, who retired in 1983.

     He left his largest legacy in his hometown of Buffalo, where he spent nearly 50 years working for its Parks Department. As parks and recreation director, McNamara designed the baseball diamond at War Memorial Stadium, allowing the Triple-A baseball Buffalo Bisons to share the facility with the NFL Buffalo Bills in 1961.

     McNamara referred to his only pro baseball appearance in a game with the 1927 Bisons as one of his most memorable moments. The shortstop went hitless in two at-bats.

     McNamara is survived by a son, brother, two sisters and two grandchildren.

     Services were not immediately announced.