Pete Runnels Dies

   Pete Runnels , who won American League batting titles with the Boston Red Sox in 1960 and 1962 and played briefly with the Colt 45s, died Monday, three days after he had a stroke. He was 63.

   He had been hospitalized at Bayshore Hospital in Pasadena, hospital spokeswoman Karen Perry said. Friends said Runnels had a stroke Friday.

   Runnels was born in 1928 in Lufkin and started his major-league career in 1951 with the Washington Senators. He played with the Senators through 1957.

   He played for the Red Sox from 1958 through 1962. He batted .320 in 1960 and .326 in 1962.

   Runnels played for the Colt 45s, the forerunners of the Astros, in 1963-64.

   He was a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

   Funeral arrangements are scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Pasadena.