Joseph H. (Joe) Astroth Sr.

Published in The Palm Beach Post from May 6 to May 7, 2013

Joseph H. (Joe) Astroth Sr., passed away at Boca Raton, Florida on 10:47 PM, May 3, 2013 at the age of 90.

Joe Astroth is survived by his loving wife, Majorie I. Astroth, of 65 years. They were married at St Mary's Church in Alton, Illinois on October 18, 1947.

Joe is lovingly remembered by his daughter, Janet A. Thompson of Delray Beach, Florida; his sons, August A. Astroth of Charlotte, North Carolina; Joseph H. Astroth, Jr. of San Rafael, California; Brian D. Astroth of Midlothian, Virginia; 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

Joe was born in East Alton, Illinois on September 1, 1922. He graduated from Wood River High School in 1940 and went on to attend the University of Illinois where he "lettered" in football, baseball and basketball until he entered military service in 1942. He served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II until his Honorable Discharge in 1945.

Immediately after his discharge, he was given a Major League baseball contract from the Philadelphia Athletics as a catcher. His Major League debut was August 13, 1945, without playing a single minor league game; and his final appearance was May 13, 1956. During this entire time, he was a member of the Athletics, moving with them to Kansas City in 1955.

After his successful professional baseball career, he was the proprietor of two family run businesses, Pit-Catcher Bowling Lanes and The Bullpen Dairy Bar in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. He later went on to be a sales professional and plant superintendent for General Copper and Brass, Co in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.

Joe enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren and was an avid golfer, playing in many charitable golf events throughout the Northeast. Joe and his wife Marjorie enjoyed traveling and even into their twilight years, maintained a passion for ballroom dancing. Their jitterbug dancing was a highlight of their children's wedding receptions.

A memorial service will be held at St. Andrews Estates South in Boca Raton, Florida on May 6, 2013 at 4:00 PM.

The mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Jude Catholic Church in Boca Raton, Florida at 10:45 AM, May 7, 2013.

A military funeral honors ceremony will take place at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Baseball Assistance Team (www.MLBcommunity.org)

Glick Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.



Brad Lesley, former major league pitcher from Turlock, dies at 54 of kidney failure

By Brian VanderBeek
The Modesto Bee
Monday, April 29, 2013

Brad Lesley had a big fastball and big personality that matched his frame, combining the two into careers in professional baseball and acting.

The 54-year-old Turlock High graduate, nicknamed “Animal,” was a first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds out of Merced College in 1978. He died Saturday at a nursing home in Marina Del Rey.

According to reports, Lesley had been ill for several years and had been living in the nursing home for seven months while receiving dialysis.

Lesley appeared in 54 games over four seasons (1982-85) with Cincinnati and Milwaukee, then played three seasons in Japan. It was there that his larger-than-life personality -- quite a feat for someone standing 6-feet, 6-inches and weighing 230 pounds -- made him a celebrity off the field.
While playing with the Reds, he ran to cover first base on a ground ball with such ferocity that Hall of Famer Johnny Bench said he looked like an animal, and Lesley had an instant nickname he quickly embraced.
But people in Turlock and Merced already had seen that side of Lesley.

He attended Central Catholic before transferring to Turlock High, and while playing high school and junior college baseball had no problem showing his emotions on the mound -- yelling and fist-pumping at a time when such antics were rare in the game.

“Coach (Atch) Pedretti was kind of his father, since Brad grew up without a father around,” said Turlock baseball coach Mark de la Motte. “Coach Pedretti patted him on the back and kicked him in the rear, which was exactly what he needed at that time.”

Lesley is one of four Turlock High baseball players to have reached the majors, joining Frank Duffy, Steve Soderstrom and Dan Reichert. In 2006, Lesley returned to Turlock to participate in the one of the school’s centennial celebrations.

He played for Butch Hughes at Merced College for a season, and at 19, as the No. 9 overall pick in the draft, received a $48,000 signing bonus -- par for the time.
“He once told me I was his favorite teacher and that was after I gave him a D in English,” said long-time Merced College instructor coach and athletic director Steve Cassady. “That tells you what kind of student he was. He was a different kind of guy.

“At Merced, he was big and gangly and talented -- different in ways I found amusing, but not necessarily in ways that I would have seen fit to reward with a grade.”
After reaching the majors, Lesley frequently would return to the area to train, run camps, participate in fund-raisers and keep in touch with friends.

“He’d come workout with our guys (at Turlock High) before going to spring training,” de la Motte said. “He announced one day in the middle of practice that they team was going on a run to Jack in the Box. He needed to lose a few pounds, so he took the whole team on a training run from the school to Jack in the Box and back. They didn’t eat.

“He really was a larger-than-life guy -- a guy you had to love.”

But it was in Japan that Lesley discovered how to turn his personality into a second career.
He signed with the Hankyu Braves, stepping into a closer role on a team in the middle of winning three straight Japan Series.

It took a few months, but Japanese fans learned to embrace Lesley’s on-field antics, and he helped his own cause by immersing himself in local customs and the the language. He met his wife (since divorced) Chiho in Japan, and in 1997 they had a son, Luke.
Lesley parlayed his popularity into his first acting role, in an action movie called “Animal Goes to Japan.”

He stayed in Japan, appearing on talk shows and taking small parts in soap operas, had a bit role in “Mr. Baseball,” then got a break when he was asked to read for the part of John “Blackout” Gatling in the successful movie “Little Big League.”

He went on to appear on the big screen in “Space Jam,” “A Boy Called Hate,” “Buddy,” “Big Monster on Campus,” “Brother” and on the television comedy series “Son of the Beach.”

Lesley remained tied to baseball as a pitching coach, giving private lessons and also serving for several years on the field staff of the independent league Mission Viejo Vigilantes of the Western Baseball League.

“Every door I’ve walked through in my life has been a direct result of my success in baseball,” Lesley told the Los Angeles Time in 1997.

“I can never repay baseball enough for the doors it’s opened for me. I've been truly blessed. As much as I try to give back to the game, it's never enough.”

Former Braves pitcher Rick Camp dead at age 60

By Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, April 25, 2013

Former Braves pitcher Rick Camp died Thursday at his home in Bartow County, authorities said.

“Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and former teammates,” the Braves said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Bartow Deputy Coroner Brandon Duncan confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Camp, 60, died Thursday morning at his Rydal home.

Duncan said that while an autopsy would be performed to determine the cause of death, there was nothing to indicate that the death was from anything other than natural causes.

Camp, a native of Trion in northwest Georgia, was signed by the Braves out of West Georgia College in 1974, and pitched a little more than eight years in the major leagues.

Among his more memorable games was the marathon July 4, 1985 game against the Mets in which he hit a game-tying home run in the 18th inning of the rain-delayed game, which didn’t end until around 4 o’clock the next morning.

Thursday, former teammate Dale Murphy tweeted: “Will miss friend and teammate Rick Camp. Sad news. RIP Rick. Good memories. I join with all @Braves family/fans w prayers to the Camp family.”

After being waived by the Braves in 1986, Camp returned to Trion to farm before becoming a lobbyist at the state Capitol in the early 1990s.

In September 2005, the former pitcher was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his part in a scheme to defraud an Augusta mental health facility.

Harold (Jack) Daniels

Published in Shreveport Times from April 17 to April 19, 2013

Shreveport, LA - Harold (Jack) Daniels, "Sour Mash Jack", age 85, passed away Tuesday April 16, 2013. Jack was born December 21, 1927 in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Jack moved to Shreveport 3 years ago to be with his daughter Cheryl Formby. Jack was a former resident of Evansville, Indiana, where he lived and worked for his family's business. Prior to moving to Evansville, Jack played professional baseball for 13 years. He spent 2 seasons with the Boston Braves, and later played for several other teams.

Jack is survived by his daughter Cheryl Daniels Formby and son-in-law Jerry Formby. Jack is also survived by his grandchildren, Alex Patricia Daniels, Bailey Carolyn Daniels both of Evansville, Indiana, Rhonda Formby Burlison and husband Mike, J. Formby, Jr. and wife Deanna. Jack was blessed with 5 great grandchildren, Blair, Bailey, Bryleigh, Miller, and Mitchell.

The family would like to thank the staff of The Oaks of Louisiana, formerly Live Oak, for the care and compassion they have shown our father.

Services are pending under the direction of Ziemer Funeral Home in Evansville, Indiana, 812-477-1515.

Former Astros manager, Beaumont-native Hatton dead at 90

By Avi Zaleon
Beaumont Enterprise
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Grady Hatton Jr., a Beaumont-native, major league baseball player and manager of the Houston Astros, died Thursday morning from causes relating to cancer, his daughter-in-law said.

Hatton was born in Beaumont and played in the majors from 1946-60 after attending the University of Texas-Austin. He made his major league debut on April 16, 1946 as a 23-year-old second baseman with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1952, he was named a National League All-Star.

In 1966, Hatton began a three-year career managing the Astros, which concluded with a 164-221 record.

His funeral will be 10 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church in Warren. Visiting hours will be held Sunday at Riley Funeral Home from 4-6 p.m.

He was 90 years old.

Robert. G. Smith

Published in Union Leader on April 5, 2013

Aiken, S.C. - Robert Gilchrist Smith, 83, formerly of Bath and Woodsville, N.H., died Monday, April 1, 2013, at University Hospital in Augusta, Ga.

He was born in Haverhill, N.H., Feb. 1, 1930, the son of Henry and Hazel (Beattie) Smith and graduated from Woodsville High School, Class of 1948.

Bob was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and made his Major League debut as a pitcher with the Red Sox on April 29, 1955. He later pitched for the Cardinals, Pirates and Tigers. Following his playing career, Bob worked as a purchasing manager for Georgia Pacific.

He married the former Anita R. Steinberg on July 16, 1985. For several years they lived in Texarkana, Ark., and later in retirement moved to Gulf Breeze, Fla., and in 2000 to Aiken.

Survivors include his wife, Anita of Aiken; a sister, Constance Kenney of Marlborough, N.H.; nieces Judy Britton and Janet Buckbee and husband Frank, Marda Levy and Michelle Levy and husband Michael; nephews Harry Kenney Jr., Robert Kenney and Peter Kenney and wife Sarah, Stephen Levy and wife Liz, along with their families; and good friends Tom and Cristi Williams.

Services: There will be no calling hours. A graveside service will be held Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in the North Monroe, N.H., Cemetery.

For more information or to sign an online condolence, please visit rickerfh.com.

Ricker Funeral Home & Cremation Care of Woodsville, N.H., is in charge of arrangements.

Bob Turley, Pitcher With a Blazing Fastball, Dies at 82

By Robert D. McFadden
The New York Times
Published: March 30, 2013

Bob Turley, a Cy Young-winning, right-handed pitcher whose blazing fastball bore in on baffled hitters like a dissolving aspirin and lifted the Yankees to a come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Braves in the 1958 World Series, died in Atlanta on Saturday. He was 82.

Turley, who lived in Alpharetta, Ga., died in hospice care at Lenbrook, a retirement community in Atlanta. The cause was liver cancer, his son, Terry, told The Baltimore Sun.

On a Casey Stengel team loaded with legends — including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Hank Bauer, Moose Skowron and Elston Howard — Turley was a mainstay of a pitching staff led by Whitey Ford and Don Larsen, whose perfect game in the 1956 World Series symbolized a golden era of Yankee dominion.

They called him “Bullet Bob,” and if any proof were needed beyond the 1,265 strikeouts and 101 wins he racked up in 12 seasons in the American League, it was provided early in his career by a DuMont cathode-ray oscilloscope, whose photoelectric eye clocked his fastball at 94 to 98 miles an hour.

He was no herky-jerky tangle of arms and legs like Dizzy Dean or Cleveland’s fireballing Bob Feller, with whose fastball his was sometimes compared. Like the great Walter Johnson, he pitched with practically no windup, and had a remarkably smooth delivery for his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame. He had a curve, a slider and a change-up, but the fastball was his magic.

To a batter’s naked, unflinching eye, it was an intimidating marvel to behold: the ball perfectly hidden as Turley looked in for the sign, paused to inspect the crowd, and let fly — an incoming rocket, a white blur barely visible for just over four-tenths of a second, and then — smack! — gone into the catcher’s mitt.

“Man!” Roy Campanella, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ catcher, exclaimed after Turley struck him out three times in succession in a 1956 game. “When you see me take three swings at three fastballs and not even foul tip one, the fellow throwing ’em must have something. Maybe he was using a little gun to fire that ball up there.”

Turley, a popcorn-gobbling Midwesterner with a ski-jump nose like Bob Hope’s and personal habits — no drinking, smoking, womanizing or sideburns — that would have made George Steinbrenner proud, played eight years with the Yankees, from 1955 to 1962, winning three World Series rings and building a win-loss record of 82-52, with 58 complete games, 909 strikeouts and an earned run average of 3.64.

But his best year by far was 1958, when he won a league-leading 21 games with only 7 losses, including 19 complete games and 6 shutouts, while striking out 168 and compiling a 2.97 E.R.A. And all that was just the season’s prelude to a World Series that baseball fans still talk about as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the game.

To set the stage: The Milwaukee Braves were the defending world champions, having beaten the Yanks in the 1957 Series on the strength of three complete-game victories by Lew Burdette. The Yankees, winners of 7 of the previous 11 World Series, were burning for revenge. But besides Burdette, the Braves had Warren Spahn on the mound and the sluggers Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock.

After four games, New York trailed 3 games to 1, and the Yankee prospects looked bleak. Only the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates had come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a 7-game Series. With the Yankees just one game from elimination, Turley went to work. He threw a shutout in Game 5, picked up a 10th-inning save in Game 6 and won his second in three days in Game 7, giving up only two hits in 6 2/3 innings of shutout relief.

Turley was overwhelmed with honors. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series, won the $10,000 diamond Hickok Belt as the year’s top professional athlete, took the New York Baseball Writers’ Mercer Award as player of the year, and became the third to win the Cy Young Award as baseball’s best pitcher. (Starting in 1967, it was given to one pitcher in each league.)

The Yankees gave him a $7,000 raise, increasing his 1959 pay to $32,000. He rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, and was lionized and hounded for autographs at banquets all winter long. “Thirty-five dinners so far, and only 10 to go,” he told Arthur Daley, the sports columnist of The New York Times, in January.

“Unlike most heroes who hit the mashed potatoes and rubber chicken circuit, however, Turley hasn’t piled on the suet,” Daley wrote. “He probably worried off the weight because speechifying fills him with dread. He’s just a simple country boy with no sham or pretense in him.”

Robert Lee Turley was born on Sept. 19, 1930, in Troy, Ill., and grew up in East St. Louis, Ill., where he starred on the Central High School baseball squad. The St. Louis Browns’ scouts spotted him, and he was signed for $600 as an amateur free agent in 1948. He played only one big-league game with the Browns in 1951 before going into the Army.

He rejoined the team in 1954, when it moved east and became the Baltimore Orioles. In a single season with Baltimore, Turley won 14 games and lost 15, but led the league with 181 strikeouts. Rivals, including the Yankees, were impressed. “It isn’t just that his ball is fast,” the Yankee coach Bill Dickey said. “It’s live. It darts and jumps when it gets near the batter.”

The Yankees acquired Turley and Larsen from Baltimore in a celebrated 17-player trade that was so good for the Yanks that the New York newspapers called it grand larceny. In his debut with the Yankees, Turley struck out 10 and beat the Boston Red Sox, 5 to 4. He went on to win 17 games that season.

After his World Series triumph, Turley had a series of declining seasons with the Yankees. He was traded to the Los Angeles Angels after the 1962 season and ended his playing career with the Angels and the Red Sox in 1963. He was a pitching coach for the Red Sox in 1964 before leaving baseball for a career in finance and insurance.

He and others founded A. L. Williams & Associates, which sold life insurance. He later became a senior national sales director of Primerica Financial Services, an investment marketing company in Duluth, Ga. Turley retired in 2001.

He is survived by his second wife, Janet; two sons, Terry and Donald; two stepchildren; and many grandchildren.

Louis M. Sleater, Orioles pitcher

Knuckleballer ended his seven-year major league career with the Orioles and was a top prep athlete in the mid-1940s

March 28, 2013
By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun

Louis Mortimer Sleater, a standout high school athlete who ended his seven-year major league pitching career with the Baltimore Orioles and was later a steel salesman, died of lung disease Monday at his Timonium home. He was 86.

A left-handed knuckleballer, he played for the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and Detroit Tigers before joining the Orioles in 1958.

He was the epitome of the journeyman left-hand pitcher in the 1950s," said Phil Wood, an MASN broadcaster who lives in Glyndon. "He was with different teams every year and they were usually bad teams, like the Senators and the Browns and the A's."

Born in St. Louis, Mr. Sleater moved to Baltimore's Forest Park as a child. He began his high school years at Polytechnic Institute and moved on to Mount St. Joseph High School, where he graduated in 1944. He was later inducted into Mount St. Joseph's Athletic Hall of Fame and attended the University of Maryland, College Park and Towson University.

"Lefty Lou Sleater, prep baseball's leading pitcher this year, hurled Mount St. Joseph to the 1944 A Conference championship yesterday at Oriole Park ... before some 2,500 fans, including a New York Yankees scout," The Baltimore Sun reported in 1944 of a game played at the old International League field on 29th Street. "The victory enabled Sleater to end his athletic career at St. Joe, during which time he also starred at ice hockey and football, with a baseball pitching record this season of seven wins and one loss."

"Despite being known for his pitching, he excelled in ice hockey," said his son, Raymond L. Sleater of Ruxton.

He was signed to a minor league contract with the Boston Braves in 1946. He then moved through several major league farm organizations after being signed by the Chicago Cubs. His contract was bought by the New York Giants, but he was selected off waivers by the St. Louis Browns at age 23 in 1950.

Mr. Sleater pitched a single inning April 25, 1950, in his major league debut. He struck out a batter and allowed no hits, walks or runs. It was his only game that season.

The next season he pitched 81 innings but moved on to the New York Yankees in midyear. He never played for New York and returned to the Browns in September.

"When he was property of the Yankees that year, he was living in the same rooming house in Kansas City with Mickey Mantle," said Mr. Wood, a friend of many years. "He had a font of information of the game in the 1950s and Lou could remember observing Mickey Mantle having a bad stretch and of how his father, Mutt Mantle, came to Kansas City and said, 'If you are going to quit baseball, I can get you a job in the coal mines.'"

Mr. Sleater remained with the Browns briefly, and in 1952 was traded to the Washington Senators. Baseball record books note that he stopped Walt Dropo's record-tying hitting streak of 12 consecutive hits.

"The actual baseball he used to stop his streak is at Cooperstown," said his son, Raymond. "There was a ceremony in 1986 at the Baseball Hall of Fame with Walt and my father when the ball was presented."

In 1954, he dropped to the minors and played for Charleston in the American Association.

"Lou is a willing worker, well liked by the fans and players," a 1954 Sun article said of his summer in West Virginia.

He later played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League. The team's owner, Jack Kent Cooke, sold Mr. Sleater's contract to the Yankees. He was one of 28 players brought north out of spring training but his contract was then sold to the Athletics in April 1955.

"The owners controlled the players' movement," his son said. "You were more or less an indentured servant. It was just considered the system of the day and all players stayed within it."

His major league career then took him to the Milwaukee Braves. He pitched in 25 games in 1956. He was a teammate of Warren Spahn and remained a friend of the fellow left-hander.

The Braves released him in April 1957 and Mr. Sleater wound up in Detroit. Signed by the Tigers, he became a reliever and had 41 appearances. On May 30, he hit a walk-off home run.

In his final season, 1958, he began with the Tigers and his contract was bought by the Orioles in June. His final game was Sept. 28, 1958. In his major league career, he had 12 wins and 18 losses and a 4.70 ERA. In 1959, he remained on the Orioles roster but was on the disabled list because of an injury.

"The Orioles offered him the opportunity to be a scout or a minor league coach, but he declined and went on with his life," said Mr. Wood. "He had seen enough of the road at that point."

Mr. Sleater then became a steel salesman. He worked for Stanley Tools and Marmon Keystone Co. in Butler, Pa.

He later turned to golf and was a regular at the Country Club of Maryland, where he was a club champion. In 1984, he won the Middle Atlantic Seniors Golf Championship.

Plans for a memorial Mass are incomplete.

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 63 years, the former Catherine Jane Boulay; another son, Robert L. Sleater of Timonium; two daughters, Joanne Sleater of Timonium and Susan Sleater Boulay of Parkton; and a granddaughter.

Gus Triandos, beloved ex-Orioles catcher, dies at 82

By Mike Klingaman
The Baltimore Sun
March 29, 2013

Gus Triandos, a brawny slugger who won the hearts of Orioles fans starved for someone to cheer for in the 1950s, died Thursday at his home in San Jose, Calif. He was 82.

"My father died in his sleep," his daughter, Lori Luna, said. "He'd been dealing with congestive heart failure for 10 years. It was hard for him to get up.

"His heart just gave out."

A catcher and four-time All Star, Triandos played with the Orioles from 1955 through 1962 and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 1981. He hit 142 home runs for the club, 30 of them in 1958, then an American League record for catchers.

That same year, he caught the Orioles' first no-hitter, knuckleballing Hoyt Wilhelm's 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Triandos' 425-foot homer in the seventh inning won the game.

"Catching Hoyt was such a miserable experience, I just wanted to end the game," he told The Baltimore Sun in 2009.

"Gus was one of my favorite guys," said Brooks Robinson, who broke in with the Orioles in 1955. "He was so good-natured and a wonderful teammate. I had a lot of laughs and learned a lot from Gus.

"The Orioles were lucky to have him for a stretch when they were struggling, because he was so terrific."

Triandos took younger players under his wing, both on and off the field, said Ron Hansen, then the Orioles shortstop.

"On the road, Brooks and I would be eating in a diner and the waitress would come over and say, 'Your check has been paid by that gentleman over there.' It was Gus. He had a big heart. He'd tell us, 'When you guys become veterans, you'll take care of the rookies, too.'"

Triandos broke into the big leagues with the Yankees but came to Baltimore in a blockbuster deal that sent pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen to New York in exchange for outfielder Gene Woodling, shortstop Willie Miranda and a swarthy, slow-footed catcher who would take the city by storm.

How much did Baltimore love Triandos? In 1962, when he moved his family to a new development in Timonium, they named the road for him — Triandos Drive.

"That [street sign] is my favorite memento," he said in 2009. "Some years ago, they replaced the sign and mailed the old one to me. It's one of my few [keepsakes]. I never wanted to be in situations where I had to bore guests with my exploits."

Triandos' daughter called him "the best man I've ever met. He always thought about others and always felt blessed with what he did. And he talked about the Orioles with great fondness."

Unless he was reminded about catching Wilhelm, who drove Triandos batty trying to capture his fluttery pitches.

"I remember seeing black and blue marks all over Gus' chest, after games in which he caught Hoyt," Hansen said. "Eventually, they invented a bigger mitt just for Gus. That helped."

At 6-feet-3 and 215 pounds, few pitches got past Triandos, a rugged Greek born in San Francisco.

"Gus was a long ball hitter, an outstanding catcher ... and a big old teddy bear," said Jim Gentile, onetime Orioles first baseman who replaced Triandos as clean-up hitter.

Gentile, who is also from San Francisco, kept in touch with Triandos to the end.

"We'd talk every few months," Gentile said. "Some years ago, I took my son to have lunch with Gus, who lived in a trailer park. He was a great teammate and friend."

Traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1962, Triandos retired three years later — but not before catching another no-hitter thrown by Philadelphia's Jim Bunning in 1964.

He settled in San Jose where, for years, he ran a mail delivery business. Twenty years ago, an automobile accident left him with a broken neck, from which he recovered.

Triandos is survived by his wife, Evelyn, to whom he was married for 61 years; son Gary Triandos and daughters Lori Luna and Tracey Hook, all of San Jose; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Services are incomplete.

Virgil Trucks, 95, threw two no-hitters in the major leagues

The Examiner
March 24, 2013
By: Nick Diunte

Virgil Trucks, who spent 17 seasons as a pitcher in the major leagues and served in World War II, passed away Saturday March 23 at a hospital near his home in Calera, Ala., according to his daughter Carolyn Beckwith. He was 95.

Trucks was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1938 and immediately posted a record setting season, striking out 418 batters for their Class D team in Andalusia, Ala. He earned the nickname “Fire” from an Alabama sportswriter for his blazing fastball that he used to tear through hitters at the lower levels of minor league baseball. He rapidly ascended the ranks of the Tigers minor league system and was in a major league uniform at the end of the 1941 season.

He spent the next two seasons with the Tigers before enlisting in the United States Navy in 1944. While in the service, he played for the baseball team at the Great Lakes Naval Station, which allowed him to stay in shape for his return to the Tigers just in time for the 1945 World Series. His complete game victory in Game 2 of the World Series helped lead the Tigers to winning the championship in seven games.

Trucks spent the majority of his career with the Tigers, pitching two no-hitters in 1952, which ironically accounted for two of his five wins that season. The Tigers, looking to go with a younger staff, traded Trucks to the St. Louis Browns at the end of the year. He would later play for the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, and New York Yankees, before finishing his major league career in 1958. He pitched briefly in the minor leagues in 1959 and barnstormed with his good friend Satchel Paige in the off-season. “I was living in Kansas City, Mo. when I retired and so was Paige. He had a friend that booked some games and he called me to go with him and I accepted. Most players barnstormed after the season because we could make enough money to live off of until next season,” said Trucks in a 2009 letter to the author.

He finished with a career record of 177-135 that included two All-Star appearances in 1949 and 1954. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1974. In 2004, he published his life story, "Throwing Heat: The Life and Times of Virgil Trucks," with co-authors Bill Bozeman and Ronnie Joyner.

The Alabama native remained a popular figure with fans throughout his retirement, spending countless hours responding to every fan mail request, often replying with hand written letters to those who sought correspondence. “[I receive] 20 or 30 [a week], sometimes more. That's just letters. It doesn't count baseballs and pictures they send. I don't like to keep the stuff around. If I wake up and can't go back to sleep, I'll go answer my mail in the middle of the night,” said Trucks to the Birmingham News in 2009.

His daughter Beckwith said that his fans kept him energized well into the later innings of his life. “He has always adored his fans,” she said to the Shelby County Magazine in 2012. “When I was little, I would help him sort through his fan mail. … He always made it a point to reply to every single one.”

Earl Hersh

Published in Evening Sun on March 21, 2013

Hanover: Earl Hersh, 80, died Monday, March 18, 2013, at his residence in Homewood at Plum Creek. Born May 21, 1932, in Ebbvale, Carroll County, Maryland, he was the son of Walter and Hilda (Barnhart) Hersh. He was the husband of Janet Marie Leese Hersh, his wife of 61 years.

He was a 1949 graduate of Westminster High School where he was an outstanding athlete in football, soccer, basketball and track. He graduated from West Chester State College in 1953 where he played in the National Blue/Gray Game, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Ted Marchibroda. He was named all-state and Little All-America in football, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rather than pursue a professional football career, he signed with the Boston Braves and played baseball in the Braves' minor league organization from 1953-1958. He played briefly with the Milwaukee Braves of the National League in 1956, once having batted in the clean-up position behind Hank Aaron. He played for the Toronto International League from 1959-1960.

He began his full-time teaching career in 1961 at Manchester High School, where he also coached the soccer and basketball teams to county championships. He was an assistant coach to the Westminster High School football team, serving under his mentor, Herb Ruby. He took over as head coach of the Owls in 1962. In 1967 he became the Supervisor of Physical Education and Athletics, K-12 for Carroll County Public Schools and retired from that position after 25 years.

From the 1960's to the 1980's, he coached football, basketball, soccer, track and baseball on prep and recreation levels. While serving as Supervisor he worked to enhance the girls' athletic program in the county, oversaw a significant expansion of the K-12 physical education and high school athletic programs, made coaching a paid position, and started the Sportsmanship in Athletics Award.

He was inducted into West Chester University's Golden Ram Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and into their Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. He was an inaugural inductee into the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1999, he was selected as Carroll County's Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century.

He was an active member of Westminster United Methodist Church. He enjoyed golfing, traveling, trivia/puzzles and sports, and was devoted to family and friends. He was known for his outgoing personality, his genuine concern for others and his cheerful outlook on life.

Surviving are daughter Michele Hildebrand and her husband Carl, of Adamstown, Md.; son Larry Hersh and wife, Lisa of Taneytown, Md.; daughter Patti Heacock and husband Steve of Westminster, Md.; brother Richard Hersh and wife Joann, of Waynesboro; nine grandsons; one granddaughter; 11 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. He was predeceased by sister, Arlene McDonald Myers.

There will be a 2 p.m. memorial service at Westminster United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 24, 2013 with Reverend Dr. Laura Easto officiating.

A reception for family and friends will be held following the service in the church's Social Hall with light refreshments provided.

Pursuant to Earl's wishes, his body has been donated to Humanity Gifts Registry for medical research.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Westminster United Methodist Church, 162 E. Main St., Westminster, Md. 21157, or to a charity of your choice.

The Kenworthy Funeral Home, Inc., 269 Frederick St., Hanover, has been entrusted by the family with the funeral arrangements.



Robert S. Detweiler
February 15, 1919 - March 13, 2013

The Williamson Funeral Home ~
Preston, Maryland
Thursday, March 14, 02:17:42pm

Robert Sterling Detweiler "affectionately known as Ducky for over 75 years" passed away March 13, 2013 at William Hill Manor, Easton with his family by his side. He was 94.

Ducky was born on February 15, 1919 in Trumbauersville, PA to the late Robert W. and Flora Levy Detweiler.

Mr. Detweiler was a well known sports figure in the area that involved baseball, basketball, and football, as an official, umpiring, and assignor of games. In his younger years, he played Major League Baseball for the then Boston Braves of the National League.

He was a Veteran of World War II, Army Medical Corps. After serving his country, he returned to baseball as player/manager for the
Athletics Minor League teams retiring in 1952. He ran a local tavern called "Ducky's Tavern” from 1960 to 1969 which he took over from his
father-in-law. He finished his employment days as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 1984 after 20 years of service.

He was a very active member of his community; with memberships including Immanuel Lutheran Church in Preston, MD; the Federalsburg Volunteer Fire Co. which he joined in 1951 and served as Past Chief and was a member for 62 years; American Legion Post #243 of Hurlock, MD; Quakertown Lodge #512 F.A.M. and has been a member since 1943; a life member of the Loyal Order of Moose Quakertown Lodge#1622 inducted
in 1939; Pennridge Quaker Hall of Fame in Quakertown, PA inducted in 1992; Association of Professional Ball Players of America Life Member of Placentia, CA; Major League Baseball Player's Alumni of St. Petersburg, FL; Boston Braves Historical Association in Boston, MA; the Eastern Shore Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame inducted in 1995 in
Salisbury, MD; Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society of Hatboro, PA; a life member of the International Association of Approved
Basketball Officials; a life member of the Delmarva Football Officials Association; a founding member of the Federalsburg Historical Society and he was a member of the Caroline County AARP #915.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, the former Jean Cahall, whom he married on June 17, 1944 of Federalsburg, MD, his only daughter Gina Detweiler McConnell and her husband Dufferin of Preston, MD; 2 granddaughters, Leslie McConnell Taber and her husband Michael of Virginia Beach, VA; Molly McConnell Tracy and her husband Patrick of High Point, NC and by 2 great grandchildren, Daphne Jane Taber and
Zachary Dean Taber, both of High Point, NC.

He was preceded in death by 1 brother, Charles H. Detweiler and 1 sister, Ruth D. Hendricks.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 2:00PM at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 242 Main Street, Preston, MD with the Pastor Thomas Becker officiating. A visitation with the family will be 1 hour prior to the service.

Interment will be private. Pallbearers will be members of the Federalsburg Volunteer Fire Co.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to the Federalsburg Volunteer Fire Co. Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 99, Federalsburg, MD 21632 or to the Immanuel Lutheran Church Roof Fund, P.O. Box 39, Preston, MD.

Arizona baseball legend Carl Thomas dies at 80

By Bob Young
AZCentral.com
Friday, March 8, 2013

Carl Thomas, one of the more-decorated pitchers in Arizona Wildcats baseball history, died Thursday after a lengthy illness according to his wife of 55 years, Eunice Thomas.

He was 80.

Thomas, a three-time All-American at UA from 1954 to 1956, still holds several school pitching records and a couple of College World Series marks.

“As a pitcher, he was very proud of the fact that one of those College World Series records was for runs batted in — seven in one game,” Eunice Thomas said.

Thomas set that mark against Oregon in 1956. It has been tied by four players since. He also holds the CWS mark for most innings pitched in relief in one game (10).

At UA, he is the career strikeout leader (422) and owns two of the school’s four all-time no-hitters.

“He pitched those in back-to-back games,” his wife said.

Indeed, Thomas no-hit Arizona State on April 21, 1956, and no-hit UCLA on April 27, 1956.

Later, however, he was much kinder to his archrivals in Tempe. Thomas once contributed to Bobby Winkles’ decision to accept a job as ASU’s coach.

“They played together in Indianapolis (for the Cleveland Indians’ Triple-A affiliate), and Bobby knew that we had ties to Arizona,” Eunice said.

“He asked Carl what he thought about a job he was offered by ASU, and Carl told him, ‘Grab it. The only way that team can go is up.’ The rest is history.”

After winning 35 games at UA, second on the school’s all-time list, Thomas was signed by Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck.

Thomas spent six years in professional baseball. He pitched in four major-league games with the Indians and won in his only career decision, beating the White Sox.

It was during spring training in the Valley in 1957 that a mutual friend introduced him to Eunice. The couple married and had three daughters — twins Susan and Cynthia, 53; and Lisa Mary, who is deceased. He also is survived by four grandchildren.

“After he got out of baseball, he took a lot of pride in helping the sons or grandsons of friends in Little League with their pitching or hitting,” Eunice Thomas said.

“It told him once I was going to bronze one of his gloves. But he’d given them all away to those kids.”

A native of Minneapolis, Thomas graduated from Central High there and played against former UA coach Jerry Kindall, a native of St. Paul, throughout their careers.

Thomas represented the U.S. at the second Pan-America Games in Mexico City in 1955, and while at Santa Ana (community) College in 1952 was a member of a West Coast All-Star team that toured Japan, the first U.S. contingent to go there after World War II, according to EuniceThomas.

He was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.

A reception will be held in his honor at 2 p.m. April 6, at the Mount Claret Retreat Center, 4633 N. 54th Street in Phoenix.

Raymond J. Martin
March 13, 1925 - March 7, 2013

Gillooly Funeral Home
March 8, 2013

Martin, Raymond J., 87, longtime resident of Norwood, Thursday, March 7, 2013. Raymond, was born in Norwood, March 13, 1925, the son of James and Winifred Martin.

He was the beloved husband of the late Claire (Canniff) Martin, who passed on December 5, 2008 and the loving father of the late Susan France, who passed away on January 27, 2013.

He was dearly loved by his niece, Barbara Kearney and her husband Paul of Brewster, their daughter Kathleen Rocuant of Estero, FL and her children Rebecca and Ryan, and their son Paul Kearney and his children Jessica and Sarah of Plymouth, as well as several dear friends.

Ray graduated from Norwood High School with the class of 1943, where he was a star athlete, playing football, hockey, basketball and his favorite sport, baseball.

Ray was a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played three seasons with the Boston Braves in 1943 and 1947 to 1948.

He served in the US Army during WWII under General Omar Bradley. He was employed by the Picker Corporation as a salesperson for the installation of x-ray machines and diagnostic equipment for hospitals and medical facilities.

He was an avid golfer, joined the Walpole Country Club shortly after retiring from the Braves organization and maintained his membership through his retirement years.

Ray was always a strong supporter of Youth Hockey.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 11 at 8:00 AM from the Gillooly Funeral Home, 126 Walpole Street (Rte. 1A), Norwood, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:00 AM in St. Catherine of Siena Church, 547 Washington Street, Norwood.

Interment will follow the Mass in Highland Cemetery, Norwood.

Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the funeral home on Sunday, March 10 from 2:00-4:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of Norwood Hockey, PO Box 308, Norwood, MA 02062.

Wilbur “Jake” Striker
October 23, 1933 – March 7, 2013

Oregon Obituaries / Funeral.com
March 9, 2013

Dallas– Wilbur “Jake” Striker passed away at his home with his son, Scott, at his side, on March 7th, 2013. Jake was the son of George and Ruth Striker, both deceased. Also preceding him in death was his wife Sharon, in 2010 and their daughter Dawn, in 1997.

Jake was born in New Washington, Ohio and while he was at an early age the family moved to the Sulfur Springs, where he graduated in 1951 from Sulfur Springs High School.

He enjoyed all sports and upon graduation, he signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians organization to play professional baseball. After briefly attending Heidelberg College he started his career in 1952 and through the1962 season, with 2 years away for his military service (1956 & 1957).

After playing at different levels in the minor leagues he was called up to the Indians in late 1959 and started 1 game. He was then traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1960, appearing in several games until he was transferred back to the minor league where he retired after the 1962 season.

In 1963 he started a 30 year career with Timken Company in Bucyrus, Ohio. He enjoyed traveling with is family and playing golf with friends and fellow workers.

Upon his retirement, the moved to Prescott, Arizona and in 2002 they moved to Dallas, Oregon.

At his request there will be no public service.

Memorial contributions are suggested to your local cancer society or hospice organization.

Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center is caring for the family.

Tom Borland

The Stillwater News Press
Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tom Borland, 80, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, March 2, 2013. A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church at 1 p.m. Thursday. Strode Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Tom was born in El Dorado, Kan., on Feb. 14, 1933. He moved with his family to McAlester at the age of four, and lived there until graduating high school. He was outstanding in all sports and was recruited by A&M College, along with 15 other major universities offering scholarships to play basketball and baseball.

Baseball became his major sport and love. He became the second All American out of Oklahoma A&M, and still holds pitching records at the school. He was All American, All State, and Most Valuable Player at the 1955 College World Series. He is in the OSU Hall of Fame, and also in the Hall of Fame and Museum in El Dorado, Kan., the Hall of Fame in McAlester, and his name is in Cooperstown.

Tom was signed with the Boston Red Sox and played one season before being drafted into the Army. After serving two years, he returned to professional ball until 1962. Tom then retired from baseball and moved to Stillwater, with his wife, Eileen. He started his own business, Pioneer Tire Center, and retired in 2001.

Mr. Borland was involved in coaching American Legion Baseball, worked with summer camps with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, served as president of the high school booster club, and was a member of the Ambucs Business Club. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church. He also played in the senior citizens competitive baseball league.

Tom married Eileen Kroutil in June 1956 in Stillwater. He is survived by his wife, Eileen, and four children: Scott and his wife Filomena of New York, Jeff and his wife Beth of Plano, Texas, Victor and his wife Mona of Stillwater, and Jana and her husband Carey King of Stillwater. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Ford 'Moon' Mullen, ex-major-leaguer and member of 'Tall Firs' Oregon team, dies at 96

By Larry Stone
Seattle Times staff reporter
March 1, 2013

Ford "Moon" Mullen, the oldest living major-leaguer in Washington state and the last surviving member of the University of Oregon's legendary "Tall Firs" basketball team, died Thursday night in Stanwood at age 96.

Mullen's wife of 72 years, Jessie, said her husband had suffered a stroke two weeks ago and died "very peacefully." A week earlier, on Feb. 9, family and friends helped Mullen celebrate his 96th birthday.

"We had a wonderful life together," Jessie Mullen said. "No regrets whatsoever. He was a great guy, very humble."

Mullen was born in Olympia, grew up on the resort his family operated on Pattison Lake in Lacey, and met Jessie in the stands at an Olympia High School football game.

"I'm not sure what she saw in me, but I'm thankful," Mullen said during a 2011 interview with The Seattle Times.

Mullen attended the University of Oregon, where he was a 5-foot-8 backup guard on the Ducks team that beat Ohio State 46-33 in the first NCAA title game at Northwestern University in 1939.

"I was the shortest Tall Fir," Mullen joked in the Times interview.

But baseball was Mullen's sport, and he began a professional career in 1939 in the Detroit Tigers' organization with the Class D Alexandria (Louisiana) Aces. He was playing for the Seattle Rainiers in September of 1943 when he saw a headline in the newspaper: "Mullen sold to the Phillies."

With many major-leaguers off to serve in World War II, teams were scrambling for players. Mullen, a left-handed-hitting second baseman, played the 1944 season with the Phillies, hitting .267 in 118 games.

Mullen was drafted into the army after the 1944 season, serving at Fort Lewis, and never again returned to the major leagues. After retiring from baseball, he forged a second career teaching zoology and biology at Olympia High School for 27 years.

Mullen is survived by wife Jessie, children Ford Mullen Jr. of Camano Island; Judy Schneider of Seattle; and Janet Siemion of Bellingham; six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grand children.

His wife said funeral arrangements are pending.

Mario dies "Nato" Ramirez, former player in Major League Baseball

By: CyberNews
Posted: 22/02/2013 01:35 pm

The president of the Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico, Dr. José Quiles, expressed condolences to the family of former player in Major League Baseball, Mario "Nato" Ramirez, who died Friday after several health problems.

"We deeply regret the loss of Nato Ramirez. Had the opportunity to share with him and his family this past Saturday at the inauguration of the new stadium of Yauco and Friday we learned of this sad news. We joined the grief felt by his family and we ask our Lord to give them a lot of strength and peace of mind in this difficult time, "said Quiles.

Ramirez, 55 years old, was in poor health in recent months.

At the opening of the new municipal stadium Yauco, Ramirez was honored by the team of Coffee Growers. The team yaucano retired the number 12, which he used in the major leagues from 1980 to 1985.

Quiles ordered a minute's silence on Friday at all stages of the country in honor of Ramirez.

Vernon "Jake" Thies

Published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch on February 12, 2013

Thies, Vernon Jake Born Aril 1, 1926, passed away February 10, 2013, in Florissant, MO, at the age of 86.

Beloved husband of Kolene; dearest father of Kent (Debbie) and Kevin (Beth); dear grandfather of Jeff, Jenny, Kelly, Sarah and Adam; great grandfather of Lucas; uncle of Susan Kastrup Ressler; cousin and friend of all he met.

Jake proudly served his country in the 117th Infantry Division during WWII. After the war, he attended the University of Illinois for one year before he was drafted by the New York Giants.

After playing for several minor league teams, Jake pitched in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates during 1954/55.

After baseball, Jake worked in sales for more than 40 years. Family, baseball and golf were his passions. Jake loved life and he will be missed by many.

Services: Visitation 4-8 pm Tuesday, Feb. 12 at Hutchens Mortuary, 675 Graham Rd., Florissant.

Funeral on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 11 am at Immanuel United Church of Christ, 221 Church Street, Ferguson, MO 63135.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Salvation Army or charity of your choice.



George Witt
1931 - 2013

Published in Orange County Register from February 5 to February 8, 2013

George "Red" Witt, longtime Laguna Beach resident, died Jan. 30, 2013 after battling cancer with bravery, good humor, and grace. George enlisted in the Marines during the Korean War, and about that time his great pitching arm was discovered, leading him ultimately to pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they won the 1960 World Series.

George later earned a Masters Degree at Cal State Long Beach, and went on to a successful teaching career at Tustin High School where he met his future wife, Ellen. After retiring from teaching, George discovered his love of singing, and he sang in South Coast Singers, the InSpirit Church Gratitude Choir, and the San Clemente Choral Society. His joyful exuberance and his beautiful voice will be greatly missed.

George is survived by his devoted wife of 42 years, Ellen, and his children, Linda Webb and Mike Witt, along with his beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Donations in George Witt's memory may be made to The Humane Society.

A memorial service will be held at 1 PM Saturday Feb. 9 at InSpirit Church: 25782 Obrero Drive, Unit D, Mission Viejo, Ca, 92691.

Fred Dwight Whitfield Sr.

Published in The Gadsden Times on February 2, 2013

Fred Dwight Whitfield Sr., of Vandiver, went to be with the Lord on Jan. 31, 2013, at the age of 75.

He is survived by his wife, Helen Leverton Whitfield; one daughter, Tammy Acre (Mike); five sons, Fred Whitfield Jr. (Lynn), Teddy Whitfield (Debbie), Jeff Whitfield (Jan), Max Whitfield (Tracy), Derek Whitfield (Tammy); and granddaughter by birth, daughter by choice, Cherie Bailey; as well as a host of loving grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and one sister, Joy Wear.

Fred enjoyed a 13-year professional baseball career and retired from Anderson Electric. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed playing bluegrass and gospel music on his guitar.

Fred had a true servant's heart; he loved life and fought hard to finish his last inning strong.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race and I have kept the faith."

Funeral services will be Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, at 2 p.m. at Vandiver Church of God with the Rev. David Houston officiating. Burial will be at Lawleys Chapel Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the church at 5 p.m. today.

Kilgroe Funeral Home, Leeds directing.


Leslie E. "Lon" Goldstein Jr.
(1918 - 2013)

Published in Star-Telegram on January 31, 2013

Leslie E. "Lon" Goldstein passed into the arms of the Lord on Monday morning, Jan. 28, 2013, during his 94th year.

Service: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Altamesa Church of Christ, 4600 Altamesa Blvd. Mr. Goldstein will lie in state 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday in the Drawing Room at Robertson Mueller Harper. His family will receive friends 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the church.

Following the service, he will be laid to rest next to his wife, Gerry, in Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park.

Bearers of his casket will include Brandt and Kyle Goldstein, David Couch, Bill Bowers, Freddy Jones, Mike Lehmann, Marvin "Butch" McBroom and Grey Mills. Honorary bearers will be Gary Kaseberg, Fred Polser and Robert Spellings.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, consideration of contributions to Altamesa Church of Christ, 4600 Altamesa Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76133, or a charity of choice , in his memory, is suggested.

Born May 13, 1918 in Austin, Lon was the son of L.E. and Mary Proctor Goldstein. He grew up in Fort Worth and graduated from Polytechnic High School where he was a three-sport letterman. He received his master's in education from Texas Wesleyan College.

Lon signed a Major League Baseball contract with the Cincinnati Redlegs and played professional baseball for 25 years with various teams across the U.S. On Dec. 21, 1940, he married Geraldine Newsome; they shared 63 wonderful years together before her death in 2003.

Lon served his country during World War II in the U.S. Army. Following his tour of duty, he taught and coached at Carter-Riverside High School in Fort Worth for 35 years and served as athletic director for the Fort Worth public schools until his retirement in 1985. He was named Athletic Director of the Year in 1975 for Texas; the Fort Worth ISD baseball field is named in his honor.

Lon was inducted into the Texas Wesleyan Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. "Coach" was much loved and respected by his students, family and friends. He had a positive impact on many lives and a nickname for everyone.

Survivors: In addition to his son, Dr. Mike Goldstein and his wife, Billie, of Farmersville, Lon is survived by his daughter, Pat Couch and her husband, Jerry, of Sunrise, Fla.; grandchildren, Brandt Goldstein and his wife, Christi, of Waco, Maj. Kyle Goldstein and his wife, Carrie, of San Antonio, Sherry Corley and her husband, Mark, of Arlington, Lisa Lehman and David Couch of Sunrise, Fla.; beloved great-grandchildren, Tiffany and Zach Corley, Nicolette Lehman, Hayley, Jacob, Hunter, Gatlin and Gracyn Goldstein; and niece, Frenny
Lehmann and her husband, Mike, of McKinney.



Tony M. Pierce
January 29, 1946 - January 31, 2013

Published in Columbus Ledger-Enquirer on February 2, 2013

Columbus, GA- Tony M. Pierce, 67, of Columbus, GA died Thursday, January 31, 2013 at his residence.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 PM Sunday, February 3, 2013 at the Babe Ruth Field at Psalmond Rd. Park with Reverend Patrick Donahue officiating. The family requests casual attire, and hats are welcome for the service. A private interment will be held at Emmanuel Baptist Cemetery in Cataula, GA. The family will receive friends Saturday evening from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at McMullen Funeral Home Chapel 3874 Gentian Blvd. Columbus, GA 31907.

Tony was born January 29, 1946 in Brunswick, GA son of the late Arles D. Pierce and Mary Dunn Pierce.

Tony graduated from Jordan Vocational High School in 1964 and attended Columbus College. While attending Jordan, his curveball enabled him to set pitching records that still stand, including striking out five batters in one inning. Upon graduation from high school, he signed with the Kansas City A's as a major league pitcher. He played in the Athletic's organization for six years.

Locally he coached numerous teams, gave private lessons and formed the Young Guns Baseball Travel Organization in 2002. Several of his understudies went on to become college and professional baseball players and other's coaches. He was a tremendous person, mentor, coach, friend and father. The impact he has had in this area both on and off the field will be everlasting.

Other than his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Alfred Murphy and Bobby Murphy.

Survivors include his three daughters, Lori Pierce, Wendy Pierce and Holly Jordan (Lee) all of Columbus, GA, two sons, Tony Pierce, Jr. and Root Pierce both of Columbus, GA, sister, Susan "Susie" Donahue (Pat) of Morganfield, KY, two grandchildren, Joely Jordan and Joseph Pierce, Jr. both of Columbus, GA, numerous nieces and nephews, and his beloved dog, his Rottweiler, Gunner.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Tony Pierce Baseball Fund located at any CB&T Branch.



Harry Evans Taylor
(1935 - 2013)

Published in Star-Telegram on January 30, 2013

Harry Evans Taylor, 77, moved on to eternal life with his Lord on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013.

Service: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at First Methodist Church of Fort Worth.

Interment: Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery.

Visitation: 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Thompson's Harveson & Cole.

Memorials: Should friends desire, gifts in Harry's memory may be given to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210.

Dr. Taylor was born Dec. 2, 1935, in San Angelo to Mary and Harry W. Taylor and experienced a happy and wonderful life. The Taylor family moved to Fort Worth in 1941. Harry attended public schools and graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1954.

While in high school, Harry pitched on the baseball team with a group of talented athletes that won the Texas State 5A Baseball Championship in 1953. Harry was selected as All-State Pitcher in 1953. Harry also played quarterback on the football team and was selected as All-State Quarterback in 1954.

While he was attending the University of Texas on a baseball scholarship, Texas won the 1957 Southwest Conference Baseball Championship and advanced to the College World Series.

Harry was selected as a pitcher on the 1957 All-SWC College Baseball Team and All-American pitcher on the American College Baseball Team. Also, Harry pitched for the semi-pro Sinton Oilers in the National Baseball Congress in 1955 and was awarded the honor as the Most Popular Player and All-American Pitcher.

Harry pitched briefly for the Kansas City Athletics in the American League in 1957-'58 until an elbow injury and surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital ended his professional baseball career.

From 1958-1965, Harry attended the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in Memphis and after graduation, completed his maxillofacial surgery residency at Houston Medical Center under Dr. Ed Hinds. Harry received his degree in oral and maxillofacial surgery in 1965.

In 1959, he married Suzanne Clark and they had two sons, Mark and Kyle Taylor. They moved back to Fort Worth in 1965 and he entered private practice in oral and maxillofacial surgery, retiring in 1991.

Harry was a member of First United Methodist Church, the American Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the University of Texas "T" Association, the Major League Baseball Association, Colonial Country Club and the Alumni of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.

He enjoyed his home life with the best wife a man could have and his two sons. He also enjoyed the outdoors, traveling, big game hunting and especially all of his good friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a son, John Mark Taylor.
Survivors: Wife, Suzanne Taylor; son, Kyle Taylor; and grandsons, Hunter and
Jordan.



Former Braves catcher Earl Williams, a New Jersey native, dies at 64

By Jorge Castillo
The Star-Ledger
January 30, 2013

Earl Williams, the 1971 National League Rookie of the Year with the Atlanta Braves, died Monday night. The Newark native and longtime Montclair resident was 64.

He died at his home in Somerset surrounded by his wife of 33 years, Linda, and stepdaughter, Raquel West. He is also survived by a granddaughter, Ruquayyah Williams.

He was diagnosed with acute leukemia last July.

Williams played on four teams, including two stints with the Braves, in his eight years in the major leagues. He made his debut as a September call-up for the Braves as a 21-year-old in 1970.

The next season he slugged 33 home runs and compiled 87 RBI on his way to being named the senior circuit's top rookie.

He did so playing catcher for the first time in his life, a position the Braves asked him to play because they were desperate to include his bat in the lineup when there was a logjam at first and third base -- his usual positions.

"He had to learn from scratch," Williams' 83-year-old mother, Dolores Reilly, recalled in a phone interview. "He used to tell me that if he could've he would've used two gloves to catch Phil Niekro's knuckleball."

Williams hit 28 home runs in 1972 and impressed Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver enough to say, "Give me Earl Williams, I'll win the pennant."

Weaver got his wish when the Orioles traded four starters, including former Mets and current Nationals manager Davey Johnson, for Williams and another player before the 1973 season.

But Williams struggled as an Oriole. He earned the nickname "Big Money" for routinely hitting home runs in clutch situations in Atlanta, but teammates quickly coined him "Small Change" in Baltimore as he struggled to adjust to spacious Memorial Stadium, said Don Baylor, then Williams' roommate on road trips.

Defensively, he had trouble behind the plate and the team's veteran pitchers, such as Jim Palmer, were reluctant to trust him. Pressure mounted. Fans turned against him. He and Weaver clashed often and publicly.

By June, Weaver had suspended Williams for a game for "a reluctance on Williams' part to listen without interruption."

"They got into it all the time," Don Baylor said in a phone interview. "They're probably getting into it right now."

Weaver died on Jan. 19.

Williams batted .237 with 22 home runs and 83 RBI that first season. He was back in Atlanta in 1975 after just two years in Baltimore. His contract was sold to the Montreal Expos during the 1976 season and he joined the Oakland Athletics in 1977 at the age of 28.

That was his final year in the major leagues, but it was not due to a lack of inventive marketing. In the June 12, 1978, edition of the New York Times, Williams took out a classified ad featuring his experience, statistics, salary demand (very reasonable), lack of a police record, health and address with the headline "Employment Wanted by Baseball Player."

"That was my idea," Reilly said with a laugh. "It was a marketing opportunity. This was before agents and he was my client. I was his mother, I gave birth to him."

Born in Newark, Williams later moved to Montclair and starred on the baseball and basketball teams at Montclair High School.

"He used to hit the ball so far," said Len Coleman, the former National League president and a lifelong friend who went to high school with Williams. "Even his foul balls went a long way. He just had so much power."

Williams accepted a scholarship to Ithaca College, but left early to pursue his baseball career. After his baseball career, Williams worked as a supervisor at Warner Jenkinson in South Plainfield for 27 years before retiring.

Chuck Hinton, last Washington Senator to hit .300, dies at 78

By Matt Schudel
The Washington Post
Published: January 29, 2013

Chuck Hinton, the last player for the Washington Senators to hit .300, and who later became the head baseball coach at Howard University and the founder of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, died Jan. 27 at his home in the District. He was 78.

He had Parkinson’s disease, his daughter Kimberly Stewart said.

Mr. Hinton was considered the best player on some atrocious Senators teams of the early 1960s. He joined the club in 1961, when a new expansion team began playing in Washington after the original Senators had departed for Minnesota.

In his four seasons with the Senators, the fast and powerful Mr. Hinton was one of the few bright spots on a team that lost at least 100 games each year. He was primarily an outfielder, but he was so skilled that he played seven different positions for the Senators.

His finest season came in 1962, when his .310 batting average was fourth in the American League. No Senator ever hit .300 again before the franchise moved to Texas after the 1971 season.

Mr. Hinton led the Senators in stolen bases all four years he was with the team and finished second in the league in 1962 and 1963, behind only Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. Mr. Hinton was named to the American League all-star team in 1964.

“I thought he was going to be the next Willie Mays,” his former Senator teammate Jim Hannan said Tuesday. “He was an exciting player. He could do everything.”

But Mr. Hinton didn’t reach the major leagues until 1961, when he was already 27. He was seriously injured on Sept. 5, 1963, when he was struck in the left ear by a pitch thrown by the New York Yankees’ Ralph Terry.

Carried from the field unconscious, Mr. Hinton was hospitalized but returned to the lineup after only eight days. He later told The Washington Post that the effects of the concussion hampered his game.

“If I turned my head sharply, I’d see two balls coming up to the plate,” he said. “And in the outfield, it was like running uphill and downhill. At night, there were times when everything had a halo on it.”

After the 1964 season, Mr. Hinton was traded to the Cleveland Indians and later played with the California Angels and a second time with the Indians before retiring in 1971. He is one of the few players to have played eight fielding positions — all of them except pitcher — in a major-league game. He finished his career with a .264 batting average, 113 home runs and 130 stolen bases.

Throughout his baseball career, Mr. Hinton made his off-season home in the District, where he opened several businesses and worked for the Department of Recreation.

In 1972, his first season as Howard’s baseball coach, he led the Bison to their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.

“That’s one of the biggest thrills ever,” Mr. Hinton said at the time, “on a par with hitting .310 for the Senators.”

He coached the Howard baseball team for 28 years, retiring when the university discontinued the program. Two of his players, Milt Thompson and Gerry Davis, reached the major leagues.

In 1982, Mr. Hinton was the driving force behind the formation of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which promotes baseball to young people and has raised millions of dollars for charity.

“The idea came from Chuck Hinton,” Fred Valentine, who played with Mr. Hinton for the Senators and is vice president of the alumni association, said Tuesday. “Thirty years later, we’ve grown to be one of the strongest associations in sports.”

Charles Edward Hinton Jr. was born May 3, 1934, in Rocky Mount, N.C. He played football, basketball and baseball at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., and served two years in the Army in the 1950s.

In 1956, he hitchhiked 300 miles to attend a baseball tryout camp, where he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. He won two minor-league batting championships in the Orioles system before he was claimed in an expansion draft after the 1960 season by the newly formed Senators.

In 1965, while still playing in the major leagues, Mr. Hinton began working for the D.C. Recreation Department, where he mentored young people for more than 30 years. He was an outstanding golfer who often played in charity tournaments. He was a member of the Integrity Church International in Landover.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Irma Macklin Hinton of the District; three children, Charles E. Hinton III of the District, Kimberly Stewart of Mitchellville and Tiffany Salaberrios of City Island, N.Y.; and three granddaughters. A daughter, Jonquil Branch Hawkins, died in 2002.

Mr. Hinton remained a fan favorite in Washington throughout his life, and Howard named him to its coaching hall of fame.

“This job with Howard is thrilling,” Mr. Hinton told The Post in 1972. “Every ballplayer has a desire to manage. Mine is to coach youngsters. What more can a man want?”

Bouchee dies at 79

Former LC, WSU star played 670 MLB games

Spokesman.com
Jim Price Correspondent
January 25, 2013

From big man on campus at Lewis and Clark High School to big-league first baseman, Ed Bouchee built an oversized reputation as one of the area’s all-time finest athletes.

Bouchee, who lived in retirement in Gilbert, Ariz., died Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix. He was 79. He had outlived a brush with infamy to play seven seasons of major league baseball, enjoy a long industrial career and reap the rewards of enduring friendship.

Suffering from the effects of diabetes, Bouchee had been hospitalized for several weeks, according to former pitcher Jack Spring, his longtime friend and former teammate.

Born March 7, 1933, four days before Spring, in Livingston, Mont., Bouchee was the son of a railroad boilermaker who moved his wife and three children to Spokane during World War II. At LC, Bouchee, Spring and Bill Farr, the baseball team’s catcher, began a friendship that has lasted more than 65 years.

Spring said Bouchee won all-state and all-city honors in football, basketball and baseball.

“To my mind,” Spring said, “he’s in a category with Bud Roffler, Ryne Sandberg and Mark Rypien among Spokane’s greatest all-around athletes.”

Spokane Public Schools lists him as a Distinguished Lewis and Clark High School Alumni.

Bouchee and Spring graduated in 1951. That summer, they led a Troy, Mont., semipro team into the American Baseball Congress championship series. And, in the fall, they enrolled at Washington State, where Bouchee played freshman football and both played freshman basketball and varsity baseball.

Soon after school let out, Spokane Indians manager Don Osborn signed the 19-year-olds to professional contracts that soon put them in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Bouchee had three hits in his debut and batted .319 in 98 games. After spending the next two years in the Army and two seasons in the minors, he finished 1956 with the Phillies.

In 1957, Bouchee became Philadelphia’s regular first baseman. He batted .293 and hit 17 home runs. Although the official vote favored his teammate, pitcher Jack Sanford, The Sporting News named Bouchee its N.L. Rookie of the Year.

Acclaim abruptly gave way to disgrace.

On Jan. 17, 1958, Spokane police arrested Bouchee after he was accused of exposing himself to schoolgirls. He pled guilty to two counts of indecent exposure involving children and underwent psychiatric treatment. By July he rejoined the Phillies for the rest of the season.

Philadelphia traded him to the Chicago Cubs during the 1960 season. And, after playing for the Cubs in 1961, he went to the New York Mets in the expansion draft. He spent most of 1962 and all of 1963 in the International League and retired from baseball at age 30.

Bouchee played in 670 major league games, batting .265 with a solid .368 on-base percentage.

After his playing days, he settled in Chicago, where he became a warehouse supervisor for auto parts supplier ACDelco.

He is survived by his wife, the former Joanne Brand, whom he married in Spokane 60 years ago last May. They had three sons and one daughter. One son, Chris, played two seasons in the Phillies organization. Bouchee also is survived by a sister, Beverly Naccarato, of Spokane.

Charlie 'Bubba' Harris, 86, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics

Examiner.com
January 21, 2013
By: Nick Diunte

Charlie "Bubba" Harris, 86, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians.

Harris was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Jones Valley High School in Birmingham, Ala., prior to the 1943 season. He spent two seasons in their minor league organization before his entry in to the United States Navy in 1945 during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater for a year before returning to baseball in 1946.

His path to the majors was accelerated after being acquired by the Athletics in 1947. After one season in their minor league system, Harris made the major league club in 1948. He posted a 5-2 record and led the team in appearances with 45.

In May, 2011, I was contacted by a relative of Harris’ regarding his inclusion in the deal by the MLBPAA to grant non-vested players from 1947-1979 with annuity payments. His relative put me in touch with “Bubba” and his wife Doris, to help them receive the benefits they were due. During that process, I spent a few minutes talking with Harris about his time playing under the guidance of the legendary Connie Mack.

“He was the grand old man of baseball. He deserved everything that he had. … I enjoyed playing with him,” said Harris. Mack, impressed by Harris’ performance, brought him back in 1949. Harris, once again was the featured man out of the bullpen, leading the team in relief appearances with 37.

Harris spent the 1950 season at AAA, and returned to the majors in 1951 briefly with the Athletics before being traded to the Indians a month in to the season. Even though Harris only lasted 10 days in Cleveland before being sent to the minors (due to the May 16th deadline of teams only being able to carry a 25-man roster), his memories of that legendary pitching staff remained fresh in his mind 60 years later. “We had a great pitching staff over there, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn … it was a pleasure to play with them,” he said.

Harris continued to pitch in the minors through 1956, mostly at the AAA level with the Havana Sugar Kings. After baseball, he worked as the commissioner of the Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission.

Playing in what many call the golden era of baseball, Harris was grateful to have the opportunity to share the field with so many legends.

“I enjoyed all of it. I was in that era where I had an opportunity to play with all those big name players, and play against them. I was blessed to have that privilege.”

Cardinals mourn loss of Stan Musial

The “Man” was baseball’s perfect knight and the greatest, most beloved player in team history

Cardinals Press Release
StLouis.Cardinals.mlb.com
01/19/2013 7:45 PM ET

ST. LOUIS, January 19, 2013 – The entire St. Louis Cardinals family is deeply saddened by the passing of Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial at the age of 92. Musial, who played his entire 22-year major league career (1941-63) for the Cardinals, died this evening at his home in Ladue surrounded by his family.

“We have lost the most beloved member of the Cardinals family,” said William DeWitt Jr., Chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals. “Stan Musial was the greatest player in Cardinals history and one of the best players in the history of baseball.” “The entire Cardinals organization extends its sincere condolences to Stan’s family, including his children Richard, Gerry, Janet and Jean, as well as his eleven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren,” DeWitt said. “We join fans everywhere in mourning the loss of our dear friend and reflect on how fortunate we all are to have known ‘Stan the Man’.”

Musial was the first player in Cardinals history to have his uniform number retired, and he was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1969, being named on 93 percent of the ballots. At his retirement ceremony at the end of the 1963 season, Musial was referred to as “baseball’s perfect warrior, baseball’s perfect knight” by Commissioner Ford C. Frick. Frick’s words are inscribed at the base of a bronze statue of Musial that stands outside Busch Stadium. The now iconic statute, which sits on Musial Plaza along Stan Musial Drive, serves as a popular, almost hallowed, gathering spot for generations of Cardinals fans.

A three-time National League MVP (1943, 1946 and 1948) and winner of seven NL batting titles, Musial played in 24 All-Star Games (from 1959-62, Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games each season) and finished his career with a .331 batting average. At the time of his retirement, Musial stood as the National League’s all-time career record holder in games (3,026), runs scored (1,949), hits (3,630), doubles (725) and runs batted in (1,951) among other records, and he was still ranked among the top 10 in those categories in 2012.

Musial, who was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, signed with the Cardinals in 1938 and made his major league debut with the team in 1941. Musial was a member of the Cardinals teams that won the World Series in 1942, 1944 and 1946. He missed the entire 1945 season to serve in the United States Navy during World War II.

Musial was named a Cardinals’ vice president at the end of his playing career in 1963 and he served in that capacity for more than 25 years. In 1967, Stan served as the general manager of the Cardinals team that defeated the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series.

A resident of St. Louis from the beginning of his major league career until his death, Musial was actively engaged in business, civic and charitable work in the St. Louis community. He was co-owner of the popular “Stan Musial and Biggie’s Restaurant” in St. Louis for more than two decades and he was active with numerous charities including the USO, Senior Olympics, the Boy Scouts, the Crippled Society of St. Louis, Covenant House and Cardinals Care. “Stan was a true civic treasure, who did so much for our community,” Dewitt said.

In 2012, the St. Louis Sports Commission announced that National Sportsmanship Awards will be renamed “The Musial Awards” in recognition of his status as an exemplary role model for athletes. During Musial’s entire major league playing career he was never ejected from a game by an umpire – a mark of both extraordinary self-discipline and sportsmanship. Musial served as chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1964-67 and he served as unofficial emissary to Poland and was awarded the Cavalier Cross of the Order of Merit, the Polish government’s highest civilian honor.

In 2010 Musial was named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, receiving the medal from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony in 2011. Considered the highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. government, the Medal of Freedom recognizes individuals who have made an “especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Awarding the Medal to Musial at the 2011 ceremony, President Obama said, “Stan remains to this day an icon untarnished, a beloved pillar of the community, a gentleman you’d want your kids to emulate.”

Musial’s wife of 71 years, the former Lillian “Lil” Labash, passed away in May 2012. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Covenant House or charity of the fan’s choice in the name of Stan Musial. The Cardinals have set up a memorial site around the Musial Statute at Gate 3 at Busch Stadium, which will remain in place until a date yet determined. The team has also set up a web page (cardinals.com/stan) to pay tribute to Stan and allow fans to offer condolences to the family.

Hall of Fame skipper Weaver passes away at 82

By Marty Noble / MLB.com
01/19/2013 10:10 AM ET

The colorful and occasionally outrageous man who believed three-run home runs, reliable up-the-middle defense and effective starting pitching were the essential ingredients of successful baseball has died. Earl Weaver, the Earl of Baltimore, passed away early Saturday morning while on an Orioles fantasy cruise in the Caribbean. Death, apparently caused by a heart attack, came at age 82 for the most successful manager in the history of the Orioles, a man who never played in the big leagues but directed several of the elite teams of the past 45 years.

Weaver was a little man -- 5-foot-7 in spikes -- with a big big league resumé that earned him a place in the Hall of Fame in 1996. His Orioles teams -- he managed for no other club -- produced a .583 winning percentage and 1,480 victories, the 22nd highest total in history, in 17 seasons. They won four American League pennants and the 1970 World Series in a sequence of 11 seasons that began in 1969. His teams won six AL East championships, 219 games from 1969-70 and at least 100 games five times.

"Earl Weaver was a brilliant baseball man, a true tactician in the dugout and one of the key figures in the rich history of the Baltimore Orioles, the club he led to four American League pennants and the 1970 World Series championship," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement released by MLB. "Having known Earl throughout my entire career in the game, I have many fond memories of the Orioles and the Brewers squaring off as American League East rivals. Earl's managerial style proved visionary, as many people in the game adopted his strategy and techniques years later.

"Earl was well known for being one of the game's most colorful characters with a memorable wit, but he was also amongst its most loyal. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest condolences to his wife, Marianna, their family and all Orioles fans."

His winning percentage is the ninth highest all-time and third highest among men who managed at least 2,500 games. And his victory total ranks third, behind Joe McCarthy and Jim Leyland, among managers who never played in the big leagues. Every manager whose teams produced more victories managed at least 288 more games than Weaver.

"Earl Weaver stands alone as the greatest manager in the history of the Orioles organization and one of the greatest in the history of baseball," Orioles managing partner Peter Angelos said in a statement on Saturday. "This is a sad day for everyone who knew him and for all Orioles fans. Earl made his passion for the Orioles known both on and off the field. On behalf of the Orioles, I extend my condolences to his wife, Marianna, and to his family."

Weaver's teams' successes did the most to distinguished him, of course. But his manner and personality made him significantly more prominent. He was bold, engaging, outspoken, irascible, caustic, confrontational and funny; not always a player's dream, but reporters appreciated him and flocked to his office or the dugout bench for pregame chats. Weaver could fill a notebook like few others.

He filled one book of his own, entitled "It's What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts." Perfect! Notorious for smoking in the dugout, Weaver called inconsistent reliever Don Stanhouse "Full Pack," because, he said, he'd go through a pack any time Stanhouse pitched. Players called Stanhouse "Stan The Man Unusual," but that's another story.

"Every time I don't smoke between innings, the opposition scores," was one of his theories.

Weaver said Paul Blair, the Orioles' brilliant center fielder, was incapable of making a great catch. "If it's in the ballpark," he said, "Blair's there already waiting for it to come down." And he applauded the defense of gifted shortstop Mark Belanger with these words: "He doesn't wear a cup. That's confidence."

One of Weaver's unforgettable lines came after outfielder Pat Kelly had invited him to Sunday chapel. Weaver declined to attend. Kelly asked, "Don't you want to walk with the Lord?" Weaver replied, "I'd rather walk with the bases loaded." But he did publicly thank the supreme being once for having inherited such fine talent -- Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer and the likes of Boog Powell, Davey Johnson, Blair, Belanger and all those 20-game winners.

"What comes to mind," Weaver said during his Hall of Fame induction speech, "is thank God those guys were there and thank God we won 100 games three years in a row so I could come back for a fourth. And thank God for the fourth that we won enough games for me to come back for the fifth ... and on to 17."

Weaver also credited his bosses, general managers Hank Peters and Frank Cashen, for providing him so much talent. He said his teams had "deep depth."

He chided his players -- occasionally Johnson, a future manager, and more often Palmer. When Weaver visited the mound to speak with Palmer, who is 6-foot-3, the pitcher would stand on the rubber, never yielding to his manager, and tower over him. Weaver occasionally tried to take over the higher ground.

"There weren't any gray areas with Earl," the Baltimore Sun quoted Palmer as having said Saturday morning. "We had a love-hate relationship. Earl was going to tell you what he expected, and there wasn't a lot of room for error with him. Earl was about winning and that was what he did."

Weaver routinely confronted -- and baited -- any man wearing an umpire's uniform. He kicked dirt at umpires before Billy Martin did and learned early to reverse his cap during arguments so nose-to-nose almost was the appropriate adjective for the confrontation.

His conflicts with umpire Ron Luciano became legend. Weaver was ejected 97 times in his career. Some perspective: Bobby Cox managed for 29 seasons and was ejected 158 times.

Twice Weaver was ejected during the lineup card exchange before the second games of doubleheaders. In one of those instances, Luciano ran him, having run him in the first game as well.

Before Johnson brought managers into the computer age in 1984, Weaver had his own data system -- index cards -- which he famously relied on to remind him how particular pitchers and hitters fared against the Orioles.

His use of pinch-hitters and platooning was quite effective, and he was fortunate enough to manage teams with extraordinary pitching. Weaver's teams produced one sub-.500 record; that came in 1986, his final season. He replaced Hank Bauer with 82 games remaining in the '68 season. The teams he managed in his first three full seasons won the AL pennant and averaged 106 victories.

"When you discuss our game's motivational masters, Earl is a part of that conversation," said National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson in a statement. "He was a proven leader in the dugout and loved being a Hall of Famer. Though small in stature, he was a giant as a manager, especially among Oriole fans, who lovingly referred to him as 'The Earl of Baltimore.'"

Weaver retired after the 1982 season, a loss to the Brewers in his final game denying him another postseason appearance, then returned for the final 105 games in '85 and all of '86. The last season displeased him. "I wanted no part of losing," he said years later. "Why play if you can't beat the other guys more often than they beat you?" But the loss that unsettled him most was losing the 1969 World Series to the Mets. "In five games," he said in the late '90's' "They [beat us] in five games. And we were a very good team. It happened. I don't know how or why yet."

And now he is gone. The game has lost one of its best managers and a premier character. Weaver left this one request, expressed years ago: "On my tombstone just write, 'The sorest loser that ever lived.'" Perfect.

Mobile baseball great Milt Bolling dead at age 82

By Mark Inabinett
AL.com
January 19, 2013 at 8:34 PM

MOBILE, Alabama - Hank Aaron Stadium, the home of the Mobile BayBears, is linked to the rest of the Port City by Bolling Brothers Boulevard. Earlier today, one of the namesakes of that street died.

Milt Bolling, who went from Mobile to spend seven seasons playing baseball in the American League, died this morning at age 82 at Providence Hospital, his brother, Frank Bolling, said.

"He was 15 months older than I was," Frank Bolling said. "And I always grew up as Milt's brother. And I didn't really mind, because I admired him. He was a great athlete.

"Even when I got to the big leagues, I was still Milt's brother, which was a compliment. It wasn't until he left the big leagues in 1958 that I became Frank."

Milt Bolling signed with the Boston Red Sox as a 17-year-old and spent five seasons climbing through the minors with stops at Roanoke, Scranton and Birmingham, back when the Barons were the Southern Association outpost for the BoSox.

After earning the starting position at shortstop in Boston, Bolling's career took a downturn when he broke his left elbow and was limited to six games in the 1955 season.

The Red Sox traded Bolling to the Washington Senators one game into the 1957 season, and he finished his major league career playing with his brother on the Detroit Tigers in 1958.

"We played against each other in the big leagues, and then he came over to Detroit in 1958, and we played together as a double-play combination," Frank Bolling said, "with me at second base and him at shortstop. We have some great tales. We had a lot of good times.

"Playing against him, you didn't play any differently. I remember I slid into second base trying to steal, and he tagged me out. After the game, when he was in my town I'd take him out for dinner, and when I was in his town, he'd take me out, and I saw him after the game and his hand was bandaged. So I said, 'What happened to you?' And he said, 'Well, you spiked me, you son of gun.' I didn't know I'd done that."

In 400 major league games, Milt Bolling compiled a .241 batting average. He was considered to have as much defensive range at shortstop as any of his contemporaries.

After his playing career, Bolling spent more than 30 years working for the Red Sox in a variety of capacities. He was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Bollings came from a baseball-playing family: Their uncle Jack Bolling spent two seasons in the big leagues and nine in the minors.

A mass and memorial ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Sage Avenue in Mobile. A reception will follow the service.

Milt Bolling's wife, Joanne, said the couple had been married for 60 years.

"He was an easy man to love," she explained.

The couple has four children - Angie, Cary, Val and Rick. Angie lives in Dallas, Cary and his wife Ann in Palmer, Alaska; Val and her husband Jerald Gibbs in Houston, and Rick and his wife Vickie in Auburn. The Bollings have nine grandchildren.

Fred Talbot: 1941-2013

HardballTalk.nbcsports.com
Aaron Gleeman
Jan 16, 2013, 2:48 PM EST

Fred Talbot, a right-hander from Virginia who pitched eight seasons in the majors for the Yankees, A’s, White Sox, and Pilots from 1963-1970, passed away last week at age 71.

Talbot had a 38-56 record and 4.12 ERA in 854 career innings despite playing in the pitcher-friendly 1960s, but I’ll forever remember him as a prominent character in the greatest baseball book of all time, Jim Bouton’s must-read “Ball Four.”

Bouton and Talbot often had an adversarial relationship as Yankees and Pilots teammates, but he was also portrayed as an amusing story-teller and the victim of a pretty great prank.

Former Padres shortstop Hernandez dead at 63

By Corey Brock / MLB.com
01/14/13 2:14 PM ET

SAN DIEGO -- Former Padres shortstop Enzo Hernandez died Sunday in an apparent suicide, according to Venezuelan media reports.

Hernandez, 63, was found dead in his home of El Tigre, which is located about 210 miles southeast of Caracas, according to the newspaper Sunday Leader.

According to the report, spokesmen for the El Tigre municipal police confirmed Hernandez's death but declined to provide details on the cause.

Hernandez played seven seasons with the Padres (1971-77) after being obtained from the Orioles on Dec. 1, 1970, and finished his big league career with the Dodgers in 1978.

Hernandez, a career .224 hitter, had a career-best 122 hits his rookie season in 1971. He also led the National League in errors (33) that season.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hernandez qualified last in batting average (.222), home runs (zero) and RBIs (12) among all National League players his first season.

Hernandez stole 129 bases in his career, including a career-high 37 steals during the 1974 season. But his best work came in the field, as Hernandez was regarded as a strong defensive shortstop.

"He was solid-as-a-rock in the infield," said 1976 Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones, a teammate of Hernandez's from 1973-77. "He had pretty good speed, scored a few key runs for us. But he was a solid, good-range shortstop who was a lot of fun to play with."

James H. Cosman Sr.

Published in Rochester Democrat And Chronicle on January 13, 2013

Roswell, GA: Peacefully at home Jan. 7, 2013. James H. Cosman Sr., 69.

Survived by his wife of 48 years, Sandee Cosman; his children, James Cosman Jr., Michael (Michelle) Cosman, Andrea (Barry) Griffith & Jeff (Rachel) Cosman; 18 grandchildren, Shelby, James III, Cole, Ainslee, Jordyn, Brooks & Carsyn Cosman, Alexandra, Elizabeth, Evelyn, Richard, Sandra, Andrew, Bryan & Emily Griffith, Savannah, Bo Henry & Eli Cosman; his sister, Gail (Joe) Patton; his aunt, Frances Justice.

Jim had a professional baseball career first with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder and later with the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher.

Upon retirement from professional baseball, Jim started a career in Solid Waste Management, retiring in 2000.

Jim was passionate about people always telling them to "Keep Smiling" and "Doing Things Better". He was generous to others and to various Christian organizations.

A Memorial Service will be held SAT. Jan 19th, 10 AM at Christ Church at Grove Farm, Sewickley, PA. Graveside Service, SUN. Jan. 20th at 1 PM at Parma Union Cemetery, Hilton.

Those wishing may contribute to Christ Church, 249 Duff Rd., Sewickley, PA or your local Alzheimer's Association.

Brad Corbett, Who Owned Texas Rangers, Dies at 75

By Bruce Weber
The New York Times
Published: December 26, 2012

Brad Corbett, whose turbulent tenure as principal owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team brought the franchise Steinbrenner-like hubris and pocketbook diplomacy, but only middling success, died Monday at home in Fort Worth. He was 75.

Mr. Corbett, who made his fortune manufacturing plastic pipe, was just 36 when he and several other investors bought the Rangers early in 1974 for a reported $9.6 million and the assumption of $1 million in debt. The team — the erstwhile Washington Senators, who had moved to Arlington, Tex., two years earlier — had just suffered through consecutive 100-loss seasons. But, managed by Billy Martin, and led by pitcher Ferguson Jenkins and a young slugger, Jeff Burroughs, they finished 84-76, good enough for second place in the American League West division.

Over the next few seasons, particularly after the reserve clause in player contracts was struck down by a federal arbitrator, initiating the era of free agency in baseball, Mr. Corbett became a whirlwind wheeler-dealer. He spent freely to acquire free agents, if not always wisely.

He wrote big checks to aging stars like Bert Campaneris and players of questionable value like Richie Zisk, Jim Sundberg and Doc Medich. And he traded players with such abandon (he bartered away both Jenkins, whom he subsequently brought back, and Burroughs) — often against the advice of his general manager and occasionally, Sports Illustrated revealed, with the input of his teenage son — that a reporter for Texas Monthly wrote, “He ought to trade his three-piece suit for a giant eggplant and try to make it on ‘Let’s Make a Deal.’ ”

No one ever accused Mr. Corbett of lacking a competitive spirit. Like George Steinbrenner of the Yankees (and other team owners), he fired Martin; he also fired several other managers. The Rangers had six of them in six seasons under Mr. Corbett, including four in 1977.

And he was prone to venting his temper. One day after a loss in 1978, he stormed into the clubhouse and harangued the team. “We’ve got to start playing with some pride,” he yelled. “We’re going to have a winner here in Texas — if not this year, then next, though I haven’t written off this year. It’s certainly not because you guys aren’t well paid. I’ll go broke if I have to. I’ll fire till I’m dry.”

He did not quite go broke; he sold the team in 1980, reportedly because his other business was struggling, but in 1979 the Rangers had drawn more than 1.5 million fans, the highest total in the franchise’s history to that point. During his six-year stewardship, the Rangers had four winning seasons and finished second three times, including 1977, when the team won 94 games, the most in franchise history until 1999.

Bradford Gary Corbett was born in the Bronx on Oct. 15, 1937, and grew up largely in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. He never knew his father; he was reared by his mother and his grandmother. After graduating from Wagner College on Staten Island, he served for three years in the Marines. He worked for the Allied Chemical Corporation before founding Universal Pipe and Plastic, which became Robintech, a Fort Worth-based manufacturer of plastic pipe used in the oil industry and elsewhere. After he sold the Rangers, he started S&B Technical Products, which makes rubber gaskets for the waterworks industry.

Mr. Corbett’s marriage to Gunhilde Grunde, who is known as Gunnie Corbett, ended in divorce, though they remained close until his death. In addition to their daughter, he is survived by two sons, Bradford Jr. and Todd, and four grandchildren.

Despite his long residence in Fort Worth and his substantial Texas ties, Mr. Corbett never stopped thinking of himself as a New Yorker, his daughter said. He held season tickets to the New York Giants — anathema in a city so close to Dallas, home of the Cowboys — and often wore pajamas with the team’s logo on them. He was wearing the bottoms when he died, she said.

Boyd Owen Bartley
(1920 - 2012)

Published in Star-Telegram on December 24, 2012

Boyd Owen Bartley, 92, passed away Friday, Dec. 21, 2012.

Funeral: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Greenwood Chapel.

Interment: Greenwood Memorial Park.

Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Greenwood Funeral Home.

Boyd Owen Bartley was born Feb. 11, 1920, in Chicago, Ill., to Clara and Thomas Bartley. He attended the University of Illinois on a baseball scholarship. Some of the records he set then still stand today. After college he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization and played shortstop on the major league level for one year before being drafted by the U.S. Army during World War II.

After the war, he returned home and became a minor league team manager for the now Los Angeles Dodgers. After nine years of managing he took a hiatus from baseball, but the game he loved would call him back as a scout. He stayed with the Dodgers organization until he retired in 1990.

In November 2012, he was inducted into the Texas Scouting Hall of Fame. His love of baseball only came second to his love for his family.

He and his wife, Aletha Ruth Goodman, were secretly married while he was still in college so he wouldn't lose his scholarship. She was the absolute love of his life and they have been married for 70 years.

After his retirement from baseball, he and Aletha traveled the country in an RV for many years. They were regular travel companions with both of Aletha's brothers and their wives.

Boyd was a man of few words and had a gruff exterior, but those who were close to him would say he had the biggest heart and would be your greatest supporter.

Survivors: Wife, Aletha; sons, Thomas Bartley, Boyd Bartley and his wife, Margaret, Daniel Bartley and his wife Linda; daughter, Judith Bartley Jordan and her husband, Jerry; grandchildren, Kim Jordan, Ryan, Taylor, Travis, Allison and Monica Bartley; and great-grandchildren, Helena and Sophia Jordan McDonald.



Ex-MLB player Ryan Freel dead of apparent suicide

Steve Henson
USA TODAY Sports
December 23, 2012 9:13p.m. EST

Popular former MLB infielder was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
Freel played for the Reds from 2003 to 2008.
Freel coached young players in Jacksonville, Fla., following his retirement.

During an eight-year major-league career that took him to five teams, Ryan Freel enjoyed a reputation among teammates as high-energy, outgoing and hilarious. That's why so many were shocked to learn that Freel, 36, was found dead Saturday in his Jacksonville, Fla., home with what police told the Florida Times-Union appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sean Casey, Freel's former teammate with the Cincinnati Reds, tweeted about his death: "RIP Ryan Freel!! Great teammate, great guy, n loved his family! Such a sad day today with his passing! Awful news! Prayers are with his family!"

Freel played for the Reds from 2003 to 2008, and during one three-year stretch had 110 stolen bases. He was paid $11.55 million in his career, which ended prematurely because of a succession of injuries that plagued him after 2006.

He was hit in the head with a pickoff throw in 2009, an injury that put him on the disabled list. Two years earlier he went on the disabled list for five weeks with head and neck injuries after colliding in the outfield with Norris Hopper. He said at the time that he'd had "probably nine or 10" concussions in his life.

Freel aborted a comeback attempt in 2010 when he left the independent Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League during spring training. After retiring, Freel returned to Jacksonville, his hometown, and coached youth players for an organization called Big League Development. He was named head coach of St. Joseph Academy in June but resigned shortly after taking the job.

He left a wife, Christie, and three young daughters.

Freel was raised by his Cuban-American mother, who worked 16 hours a day as a teacher and housecleaner in Jacksonville. He credited her for his gritty, all-out style of play. Freel also had a goofy side. He told the Dayton Daily News in 2006 that he had an imaginary friend named Farney.

"He's a little guy who lives in my head who talks to me and I talk to him," he told the paper. "That little midget in my head said, 'That was a great catch, Ryan.' I said, 'Hey, Farney, I don't know if that was you who really caught the ball, but that was pretty good if it was.'"

Freel twice was arrested for alcohol-related offenses but said he'd stopped drinking. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. In 2006, he was charged with misdemeanor disorderly intoxication.

Ryan Freel was an outgoing, high-energy player.(Photo: Al Bello, Getty Images)

"I have not had a sip of alcohol in (nearly) three years. I definitely learned from that," Freel told the Baltimore Sun when the Orioles acquired him in 2009. "Me and drinking probably wasn't a good thing. Kicking that whole thing was probably the best thing to happen for me, my family and my career."

His former teammates recall a personable, giving person. The Reds released a statement that said in part: "His teammates and our fans loved him for how hard he played the game, and he loved giving back to the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."

Brandon Phillips, another of Freel's teammate with the Reds, tweeted, "Really hurt by his passing. You never will be forgotten."

George O'Donnell

Published in The State Journal-Register from December 22 to December 23, 2012

WINCHESTER - George O'Donnell, 83, formerly of Winchester, IL passed away peacefully at Regency Nursing Center in Springfield, IL on December 19, 2012. He was the son of Dana and Gertrude O'Donnell of rural Winchester. He is preceded in death by his wife Marianne (Freidl), parents, sisters Emily, Agnes Ann, Regina, Marcella and brother Patrick.

He is survived by; two sons Chris (Teresa Adams) and Dennis (Susan) of Springfield; grandchildren John, Ryan, Aimee and Brady; sisters Margaret, Lorraine, Mary Lou, Virginia, and Janice; brothers Jim, Joe and Emmett.

An outstanding pitcher in high school baseball, his father sent him to a training camp in 1948 and then he signed with the St. Louis Browns. His professional career began the next year with the Olean Oilers in the state of New York and followed with teams in Mayfield KY, Appleton WI, Waco TX, Charleston SC, New Orleans LA and in Hollywood CA.

Known for his knuckleball, he was brought up into the majors in 1954 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following the Pirates he went on to play in Hollywood CA, Columbus OH, Salt Lake City UT, Spokane WA and Syracuse NY.

His achievements included posting 22 wins with the 1951 Waco Pirates, 20 wins in 1953 Hollywood Stars in which he was name the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year and to the PCL All-Star Team. During some winters, he played in Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He was a member of the St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators organizations.

Upon retirement from baseball in 1961, he moved back to central Illinois and worked for area farmers, married his Columbus German Sweetheart, Marianne Freidl and started a family. Employed by the Illinois Secretary of State as Chief Hearing Officer, he raised his sons and even coached a summer girls softball team. He retired in 1991 and enjoyed small town life in Winchester following various sports teams.

A gentle and kind man, he loved reminiscing about his career in baseball with the great players of the era as his teammates or foes.

After moving to Springfield in 2002, he continued to follow Winchester teams as well as his grandchildren and great nephews participating on Pleasant Plains and Springfield teams. He was also known for his weekly Friday routine of traveling to Winchester to "visit with the boys." He had many friends and will be sorely missed.

A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 am Monday December 24, 2012 at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Winchester.

Burial will be in St. Mark's Cemetery in Winchester.

The family will meet with friends from 3 until 6 pm Sunday at the Coonrod Funeral Home in Winchester.

A prayer service will be held at 3 pm.

Memorials can be made to St. Mark's Alter Society or the West Central Sports Boosters.

Frank Pastore dies at 55; ex-major league pitcher, talk radio host

By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
December 18, 2012

In the end, professional baseball pitcher turned religion talk-show host Frank Pastore probably would have been philosophical about the motorcycle accident that claimed his life.

Pastore, 55, died Monday from injuries suffered one month earlier when a car swerved into him on the 210 Freeway in Duarte as he was riding to his Upland home after finishing his daily show on KKLA-FM.

His talk show, which aired from 4 to 7 p.m. on the Glendale station, was popular with conservative Christians and sometimes touched on his own baseball background as proof that divine intervention can change people forever.

Pastore had talked about his mortality on that final radio show.

"You guys know I ride a motorcycle, right? At any moment, especially with the idiot people who cross the diamond lane into my lane, without any blinkers – not that I'm angry about it – at any minute, I could be spread all over the 210. But that's not me, that's my body parts. And that key distinction undergirds the entire Judeo-Christian worldview," he said.

Born in Alhambra on Aug. 21, 1957, he was a baseball star at Damien High School in La Verne when he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1975.

Pastore pitched for the Reds from 1979 through 1985 and for the Minnesota Twins in 1986. But his pitching career was derailed at Dodger Stadium in 1984, when a line drive by Dodger second baseman Steve Sax smashed the elbow of his pitching arm in a moment that "eternally changed my life," as he would later put it.

"Immediately, I knew my arm would never be the same again, and my career, as I had known it, had come to a tragic end," he wrote in 1998. "The crack of the bat still echoed through the stadium as every eye focused on me as I clutched my elbow and grimaced in agony.

"The eerie silence was broken by a collective gasp as the crowd turned to watch the replay on Diamond Vision. As I glanced up to take a peek at it myself, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion -- it was like a bad dream -- and I just wanted to wake up from the nightmare. 'Why, God? Why?' I prayed desperately on my way to the training room, but I had to remind myself no one was listening."

Pastore often recounted how he had grown up as a "practical atheist, an evolutionist," who viewed Christianity as mythology. After the line-drive accident, however, several teammates invited him to a barbecue and then encouraged him to stay afterward for a Bible-study session.

When Pastore voiced criticism of Christianity at the end of the study session, his teammates responded by handing him several books on the subject, urging him to critique the authors' conclusions. He swallowed the bait "hook, line and sinker, pole and dock," Pastore would later acknowledge.

He emerged a changed man after studying the books and failing to debunk religion as he'd intended to do, he explained. "I knew my life would never be the same. I had always derived my sense of security and self-esteem from my athletic performance."

After leaving major league baseball, Pastore enrolled in college, earning graduate degrees in theology and political science. His 8-year-old drive-time KKLA-FM program was said to be the most-listened to Christian talk-show in the country.

In a 2010 memoir, "Shattered: Struck Down but Not Destroyed," Pastore told of how his dysfunctional childhood had turned him against organized religion and convinced him that baseball was the fastest way to become rich and famous. In an interview this year with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he explained his personal evolution.

"And so I've come to the place where no matter what happens in my life, I know God is there and involved, even if it's the loss of my children, my grandchildren might get messed up in a motorcycle accident or whatever, God can still bring good out of this," he told the network.

Known for his love of motorcycles, Pastore commuted on one to the broadcast studio each day, boasting that he had logged more than 150,000 miles riding them.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Pastore was thrown from his Honda Shadow motorcycle on Nov. 19 when it was struck by a Hyundai Sonata driven by a 56-year-old Glendora woman as he rode in the eastbound freeway's car pool lane near Buena Vista Street. Investigators said the woman was not under the influence.

Pastore suffered critical head injuries in the 7:33 p.m. crash and was unconscious when rescuers arrived. He had remained hospitalized since the accident.

His survivors include his wife Gina; two adult children, Frank and Christina; and one grandchild.

Rogelio 'Borrego' Alvarez, 74, Cincinnati Reds first baseman and Cuban star

By Nick Diunte
Examiner.com
December 1, 2012

Rogelio "Borrego" Alvarez, former first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds and Cuban Winter League star, died Friday evening in Hialeah, Fla., due to complications from kidney failure according to a former teammate who wished to remain anonymous. He was 74.

Alvarez was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 out of his hometown of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. I interviewed Alvarez at his home in February 2011, and he vividly recalled his tough transition from Cuba to the United States. “I was 17 and a half. That year, we came about eight of us all together to Douglass, Ga. It was a little town, and we went there to train,” he said. Alvarez would soon be faced with the harsh realities of segregation, something he didn’t experience in Cuba. “I didn’t know it was so bad, the colored people couldn’t go no place. The white people stayed in the good hotel, we had to go to the black community and stay in a house, stuff like that. We didn’t understand the bad words, so we didn’t know what they said.”

Even worse for Alvarez, he didn’t speak English, and was quickly separated from his Cuban counterparts. “We had two blacks, me and Leo Cardenas. They had 14 teams and they didn’t want colored people. Cardenas got signed and went to Tucson in the Arizona Mexican League. They [Tucson] said, ‘We like you too, but we have a first baseman.’ They left me in Georgia. That broke my heart, to see everybody going and I’m going to stay by myself with no English. Nobody else spoke Spanish,” said Alvarez.

Approximately a month later, Alvarez was assigned to the Reds’ affiliate in Port Arthur, Texas. It was another wild journey for the Cuban teenager on his ascent to the major leagues. “After a month being on my own there, they called me one day and send someone with a letter, they wanted me to go to Port Arthur. They took me to the bus station. I went to Atlanta and changed planes without speaking in the airport. They told me, ‘Everywhere you go, you show this letter.’ If I lose this letter, I can’t find nobody. The letter said, ‘This man is a ballplayer for Cincinnati, and doesn’t speak English. He’s going to Port Arthur; please help him out, Cincinnati will pay any charges.’” As soon as he arrived there, he once again encountered the face of Jim Crow. “When I got to Port Arthur, there were two cabs, a yellow cab and another cab. I wanted a yellow and they said no, you take the black cab. I showed them the letter, and they took me to the little town in Port Arthur, the black community,” recalled Alvarez. “The old lady there, she didn’t say nothing. They got a Cuban guy, I didn’t know how they found him, but he came. He talked to me and he told the lady who I am and showed her the schedule that I go week in and week out and I need the room. I go downstairs to the kitchen and eat. I sit down and they come with a menu. I can’t read it or talk. She asked what I want, grabbed my hand and went to the kitchen. They opened the pot; they [pointed to each] and said, ‘Stewed beef, rice, red beans, and cornbread.’ I ate that meal for a whole month.”

Alvarez’s first day at the park was no picnic either, as he found himself isolated in more ways than one. “When I came to the ballpark the first day, I was the only black of 16 ballplayers. There was no seat for me. I had to change in the bathroom. The bathroom was my locker. The manager threw me a uniform and it didn’t fit me right. I only weighed 185 lbs,” he said. Eventually with the help of a local young girl, Alvarez was able to pick up the language and adjust to life in the United States. “A little girl asked me to see a movie and in three months, I learned what I know. I learned fast; it was unbelievable. They were surprised how fast I learned.” He ended up hitting over .300 for Port Arthur despite all of the off-the-field adjustments he had to make.

Alvarez returned to Cuba in the off-season, but struggled to get on with one of the four main clubs. “It took me three years to get on with a team in Cuba. My first year, I was a reserve with Cienfuegos. They were people ahead of me, Frank Herrera and Chiquitin Cabrera. I had to go to Nicaragua in the winter because I didn’t play regularly in Cuba,” he said. Fortunately for Alvarez, leaving Cuba to play winter ball not only sharpened his skills, but provided him with an opportunity that was far greater than any home run he could hit. “That’s where I met my wife in 1957. I had a good year there. I was second in home runs in the league and after that year, I went back to the Sugar Kings. Then I went back to the reserve and played a little bit more. In the winter of 1959, I played regularly.” His play in the winter of 1959, when he batted .333 with two home runs in the Caribbean Series, contributed to the mighty success of the Cienfuegos team, which swept the Caribbean Series in six games. “We won the Caribbean Series and we won six out of six. We had Pedro Ramos, Camilo Pascual, Joe Azcue, Ossie Alvarez, Leo Cardenas, Chico Ruiz, Roman Mejias, Ultus Alvarez, Cookie Rojas, and I. We beat everyone in Cuba.”

Nineteen-sixty marked a period of turmoil during the Cuban revolution, one that Alvarez found himself dangerously close to. While playing with the Havana Sugar Kings, shots broke out during a game against the Rochester Red Wings. “It happened in Cuba stadium. That was the last game we played there. We played against Rochester. Frank Verdi was on third base. There were at least 20 police in the stadium watching. You heard, ‘Clack! Clack!’ and one of the bullets came down and hit Frank Verdi. They said we don’t play no more, so we had to move. We found Jersey City.”

Rounding out the rest of the year in New Jersey, Alvarez was all packed and ready to go to Cuba when his plans were suddenly altered. “Orlando Pena and I were playing for Havana / Jersey City. We ended the season in Columbus. Right after the game, we didn’t know that we were going to go; I packed my stuff, ready to go to Cuba to see my people,” he said. He went one-for-nine during his September call-up with the Reds. The adjustment to the pitching during his first stay in the major was tough. “I wasn’t ready when that happened. I didn’t see that many good pitchers [in the minors]. You went up there and they had four good starters. You’ve gotta be ready, and I wasn’t ready.”

He played one more season for Jersey City and then was sold to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1962. After having a banner year, batting .318 with 18 home runs, the Reds called once again. “We won the pennant [in San Diego], that’s why they didn’t bring me up before, because we were fighting for the pennant. The manager was crazy for me. He gave me the Most Valuable Player. The manager Don Heffner, after we won the pennant, we came back to San Diego. He called me to the office to come see him. He said, ‘Here, take a beer with me. You’re going to Cincinnati tomorrow.’” This time, Alvarez felt he was ready for the majors. “Oh my goodness! I wanted to go to Cincinnati. They waited for me in the airport. They took me right to the stadium, dressed and I went to play. I didn’t play because it was a right handed pitcher. I didn’t do too good, but I was ready then.”

He was sold to the Washington Senators after the 1962, but the deal was complicated by his return to Cuba. “After the season, I went to Cuba. I didn’t listen to nobody. My idea was made and I went. That was a mistake. They sold me to Washington. I didn’t know they were going to send me,” he said. According to an Associated Press report in 1963, Alvarez could not get permission to leave Cuba to report to the Senators. While San Diego general manager Eddie Leishman refused to comment on how Alvarez finally arrived there, Alvarez, almost 50 years later filled in the details. “I went through Mexico to get back to San Diego.”

The story of Alvarez’s return to San Diego in 1963 after missing all of spring training and almost the first two months of the season is one that everyone who has ever played baseball has wished they could have lived to tell. “That day I can never forget. I get there, and they came back that night. In the morning, I went to practice. The owner said, ‘I’m going to try some kids. You get some balls, hit, and run, and then in the afternoon you come back with the big team.’ I practice, took a shower, and drank a couple of beers. I figured they would give me a week to practice,” he said. His manager; however, had different plans. “The manager Heffner said. ‘Hey where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going to sit in the stands.’ He said, ‘No, come put your uniform and come to the dugout.’ I said, ‘I’m not in shape.’ He said, ‘I want to see you in the dugout.’ I didn’t go to the dugout, I stayed in the bullpen. All game, I was with the pitchers, talking with Jim Maloney,” he said.

Alvarez, who was lounging the in the bullpen the entire game, was totally unprepared for what happened next. “In the 9th inning, the bases are loaded, and Tommy Helms comes to hit. The manager calls timeout. The manager points to the bullpen. The pitchers said, ‘Heffner called you.’ The game was tied. I said, ‘Me, nah, that’s for you.’ They said, ‘That’s gotta be you.’ I face him [Heffner] and said, ‘Me?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ When I go, people start clapping. Everybody stands up, and all of the people go crazy. I get up, the pitcher was Lew Krausse; he had good stuff. The first pitch, what I saw was woosh! They called a strike! I didn’t see it. He threw hard," recalled Alvarez. "After that, he threw me a curveball. Crazy! As a right handed hitter, I didn’t play ball for six months, keep it fast. He threw a breaking pitch; he gave me a chance to see [it]. When I saw the pitch, it stopped, and it stopped breaking. I go with it, and it was a home run! First swing, home run with the bases loaded. Oh my goodness! I was like a king. It was in the papers, headlines, ‘Fat Borrego wins the game with a home run for the Padres!'”

Alvarez played through 1967 in the Reds system, swatting 226 home runs in 12 seasons. He played an additional six seasons in the Mexican League before ending his career in 1973. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Cuban Baseball Players in Exile in 1998. Alvarez was also honored earlier this year in February at a ceremony for the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame at the Big Five Club in Miami.

John "Mike" Kume, Sr

The Ashtabula Star Beacon
November 28, 2012

RICHMOND — John "Mike" Kume, Sr., age 86, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 26, 2012.

He was born on May 19, 1926, in Premier, West Virginia, the sixth of eight children of Theresa (Vargo) and Steve Kume.

John graduated from Gary High School in 1944 where he found his love for marching band and polka music. After high school, John was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Philippines. It was during his service that he found his love & talent for baseball. He went on to play professional baseball from 1946 until 1957. As John said "I had a good fastball and a good knuckleball, but I was wild and fast."

On October 25, 1952, he married his "no other love" Helen Semanco. She was his greatest fan and traveled with John, sharing his love of baseball and lived in many places including West Palm Beach, Florida, Ottawa, Canada, Savannah, Little Rock and Sacramento. When John left baseball he settled his family in Richmond, where he worked for Trumbull Bronze for twenty-five years. He also worked at Sealy Medical and he retired from Parker Hannifan.

Johns greatest joy was taking care of his yard, sitting in the sun and spending time with his family.

He is preceded in death by his parents; three sisters, Ethel (Kermit) Lewis, Margaret (Bart) Violet-Uhrin and Katherine (James) Daniels and two brothers, Steve (Helen) Kume and Joseph "Alex" Kume.

Survivors include his wife of sixty years, Helen Kume of Richmond, Ohio; three daughters, Janet (Tom) Steinman, Renae (Andy) Clouse both of Findlay, Ohio and Deborah (Jim) Pilarcik of Hudson, Ohio; his son, John M. (Donna) Kume of Kingsville, Ohio; two sisters, Julia Yokes and Goldie Lipinski. He leaves nine amazing grandchildren, Meaghan, Michelle, Andrew, Hannah, Jamie, Sydney, Bradley, Abby and Katie. John was given a gift to be at home for Thanksgiving with his children and grandchildren.

The Kume family would like to thank his second family at the Jefferson Healthcare Center for all of their tender loving care. In October the Jefferson Healthcare staff arranged it so John was able to attend the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics game where he was recognized and helped John & Helen celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary with a party. The family would also like to thank the staff of the Tridia Hospice for their care and support.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, November 30, 2012, at 10:00 am at Our Lady of Victory Church, 481 Main Street, Andover, Ohio, with Rev. Matthew Albright officiating. Burial will follow in Richmond Center Cemetery. Calling hours will be held on Thursday, November 29th from 5:00pm until 8:00pm at Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service, 134 Prospect St. Andover, Ohio.

Memorial contributions may be made to Parkinson's Disease Foundation at PDF.org.

Influential union chief Miller dies at age 95

Led organization of players as they gained rights to arbitration, free agency and more

By Marty Noble / MLB.com
11/27/12 10:51 AM ET

One of baseball's foremost difference-makers, one who didn't pitch, hit or field, has passed on. Marvin Miller, who helped bring balance to the financial playing field of Major League Baseball as the executive director of the players union, died Tuesday. Miller, who was ill with cancer, was 95.

Taking over the reins of the Major League Baseball Players Association in 1966, Miller served as the MLBPA head for 17 years and remained closely associated with the union until his death. The success of the baseball players association fueled collective bargaining advances by unions in the other major team sports.

"Marvin Miller was a highly accomplished executive and a very influential figure in baseball history," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "He made a distinct impact on this sport, which is reflected in the state of the game today, and surely the Major League players of the last half-century have greatly benefited from his contributions. On behalf of Major League Baseball and the 30 clubs, I extend my deepest condolences to Marvin's family, friends and colleagues."

Through his efforts and those of union attorney Richard Moss -- they were a different set of M&M boys -- baseball players gained and retained the freedom to sell their services in a virtually unrestricted market. Donald Fehr, the second of Miller's three successors, and zealous counsel Gene Orza moved the union forward. Beginning in the fall of 1976, the open market and the willingness of clubs to bid for precious, specialized talent increased the earning power of shortstops and sluggers, Cy Young Award winners and utility infielders well beyond levels unfathomed by players of earlier generations.

"All players -- past, present and future -- owe a debt of gratitude to Marvin, and his influence transcends baseball," MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner said. "Marvin, without question, is largely responsible for ushering in the modern era of sports, which has resulted in tremendous benefits to players, owners and fans of all sports."

The sea change began with the men who saw a need for players' independence and sought out Miller, a native of the Bronx who grew up in Brooklyn -- he was a Dodgers fan -- and worked first as an economist for the National War Labor Relations Board and later for the International Association of Machinists, the United Automobile Workers, and most notably, the United Steelworkers of America before moving to baseball. His appointment as executive director was the result of strong support from two future Hall of Fame pitchers, Jim Bunning and the late Robin Roberts.

The changes that occurred because of Miller's wisdom, foresight and strategies prompted Red Barber, the candid, astute and esteemed baseball announcer, to group Miller with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson as one of the three most influential people in the game's history. A number of people in and around the game supported that assessment, some begrudgingly.

"Marvin was the most extraordinary man I ever met," said broadcaster Tim McCarver, a Major Leaguer from 1959-80. "You know, the players knew nothing before Marvin took over. The minimum salary had been the same for 22 years. Riding trains was considered first-class travel, and West Coast teams were involved by then. That the standard player's contract was unchanged for so long is mind-boggling. We knew so little that he had to teach us before we could move on anything. And he taught us and we did move on."

Though the introduction of free agency is the most widely recognized component of Miller's legacy, the players' ability to have disputes settled by arbitration cleared the path to free agency. And salary arbitration allowed the wages of select players to reverberate throughout the workforce and do as much to increase player compensation as free agency. Miller considered arbitration the cornerstone of what he and his colleagues built.

Indeed, it was a 1975 ruling by an arbitrator that struck down the reserve clause that contractually bound a player to a team for life and led to the creation of modern-day free agency.

Free agency, though not initially favored by the clubs, nonetheless afforded them a new means of fortifying their rosters. The clubs' prolonged, annual pursuits of talent and eventual investments in players such as Reggie Jackson, Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux and Alex Rodriguez changed the sport into a year-round event, fueled increased public intrigue about the industry, and had profound impact on some pennant races; witness Jackson with the Yankees in 1977, Maddux and the Braves in the '90s and CC Sabathia and the Yankees in 2009.

"Marvin possessed a combination of integrity, intelligence, eloquence, courage and grace that is simply unmatched in my experience," said Fehr, executive director of the MLBPA from 1983-2009 who was general counsel from 1977-82. "Without question, Marvin had more positive influence on Major League Baseball than any other person in the last half of the 20th century. It was a rare privilege for me to be able to work for him and with him. All of us who knew him will miss him enormously."

Labor acrimony that existed from the 1970s through the '90s has been replaced by a more tranquil coexistence that both sides recognized as a means for bolstering the game's economy and stabilizing the industry. Baseball has gone without a work stoppage since the players' strike that cut short the 1994 season and delayed the 1995 schedule, the longest period of uninterrupted play since the inception of the MLBPA.

"I am saddened to hear of Marvin Miller's passing," Texas Rangers CEO and president Nolan Ryan, a Hall of Fame pitcher, said. "Marvin had a tremendous impact on the game and always had its best interests at heart. He helped create a true partnership between ownership and the players."

Educating his membership and then reflecting its views, Miller was at the forefront of the brief stoppages in 1972 and 1980 and the strike that interrupted the 1981 season for seven weeks (a work stoppage in 1976 was a lockout). His image as a villain grew primarily out of the '81 strike, as well as his fierce, unyielding nature.

Miller wasn't initially in favor of a strike in the late stages of Spring Training in 1972 and was surprised by the players' preference for such action. Similarly, he was moved by the players' action in 1981 because the issues then did not affect active players so much as those who would follow.

Miller's appearance -- some pointed to his pencil-thin mustache and characterized his "look" as sinister -- added to the image. His skill at the bargaining table and in the public forums that followed the almost daily collective bargaining sessions in '81 kept his coast-to coast membership well-informed and steadfast and swayed public opinion in some cases. The union's solidarity gratified him.

After he was replaced by Ken Moffitt and then Fehr in the early '80s, he remained quite aware of union activities and often was consulted by his former colleagues and quoted by the media at times of collective bargaining distress. Miller didn't always agree with the directions in which the union moved, particularly in recent years when drug testing became a hot-button issue. Fully aware of the pressure applied by Congress, Miller scolded the union for its less rigid stance.

Although he is not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Miller achieved a profile higher than most of the men he represented, improving their general working conditions as well as their financial well-being.

• Commissioner Bud Selig: "Marvin Miller belongs in the Hall of Fame, if the criteria is what impact you had on the sport, whatever way one wants to value that impact. Yes, Marvin Miller should be in the Hall."

• Tom Seaver: "Marvin's exclusion from the Hall of Fame is a national disgrace."

• Bob Costas: "He's a transformative figure of the game. ... There is no non-player more deserving of the Hall of Fame."

• Jim Bouton: "Instead of pointing to the sky, today's players should be pointing to Marvin Miller."

• Tom Glavine: "He had more influence on what became of players, generally, than anyone. He took up the fight for players so they weren't just pieces of meat that were discarded at someone else's whim. And he carried on after he retired. That's when I got to know him a little. Very intelligent. To say he knew his stuff is an understatement. I'd thought the Hall of Fame was a no-brainer with Marvin."

Bill James, a writer, historian and statistician who is currently a senior advisor on baseball operations for the Red Sox, suggested that Ruth, Robinson, Miller and Branch Rickey would constitute baseball's Mount Rushmore.

Even Raymond Grebey, the clubs' lead negotiator during the strike in 1981, publicly endorsed Miller's Hall of Fame candidacy, a startling development given their adversarial roles and the stated, mutual mistrust that evolved between them.

But even when the electorate for Hall of Fame induction included only former players already enshrined, Miller fell short. More recently, with other committees responsible for the vote -- former club and industry executives were included -- he didn't receive the required support, prompting him and others to believe that some of the voters were on a mission to rebuff his candidacy. The resolve of some voters evidently was stronger than the reserve clause Miller's initiatives had eliminated in 1975.

Four years ago, Miller wrote a letter requesting that he no longer be considered.

"I'm kind of amused by it," he wrote. "I asked not be included on any ballots and gave them notice in writing. And they got their backs up and said, 'Nobody can tell us what to do.' It was a reasonable request in light of the circumstances. Why would they keep putting me on a list and, at the same time, rigging the election so I can't be elected?"

Those who knew Miller well said election once appealed to him. As a genuine fan of the game, he fully grasped the significance of the recognition. But in time, possible election lost its appeal.

"That this man still isn't recognized as one of the great leaders and still is looked upon with scorn by some people in the game is one the great injustices in my lifetime," McCarver said.

Miller's legacy is recognized elsewhere. The union named its Man of the Year Award after its first leader. And a grass-roots demonstration of the players' sense of Miller's contributions and accomplishments exists, one that Miller found quite gratifying -- a website named ThanksMarvin.com, launched by former players.

A portion of the preface on the site reads: "As the director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Marvin led us from a history of no rights to parity with the owners. Most of us were very respectful of our opportunity to play a sport for a living, and certainly didn't want to offend our employers. But Marvin pointed out how grossly unjust the situation was. With grace and dignity, he slowly but surely led us into a position of equality."

Said Weiner: "It was an honor and a privilege to have known Marvin. The industry has never witnessed a more honorable man, and his passion for helping others and his principled resolve serve as the foundation of the MLBPA to this day. On behalf of all Major Leaguers and MLBPA staff, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to Marvin's daughter, Susan, son, Peter, their families and Marvin's many friends and admirers. Marvin was a champion among champions, and his legacy will live on forever."

Former big leaguer, longtime coach Rowe dies

By Zack Meisel / MLB.com
11/26/12 5:07 PM ET

Ken Rowe, who played three seasons in the Major Leagues and worked in the Indians' player development system for more than two decades, died on Thursday after a bout of pneumonia. He was 78.

A former middle reliever for the Dodgers and Orioles, Rowe spent the 2011 and '12 campaigns as an advisor working in Arizona with youngsters in the Indians' organization.

"He embodied everything that we have always looked for in our staff members and our players," said Ross Atkins, the Indians' director of player development. "In the world of professional baseball, there are always things that come to mind with the sacrifices and passion and toughness it takes not only to compete at the highest level but also to be a leader. You can't be short on any of those traits and Ken Rowe had them all. He was exceptionally bright, exceptionally passionate and exceptionally tough and was really willing to do whatever it took to help young professional baseball players."

Rowe started with the Tribe in 1991 as pitching coach for Colorado Springs -- then the club's Triple-A affiliate -- and served in that position for an array of teams in Cleveland's Minor League system over the next 20 years.

"There's not a pitcher that came through our system that he didn't impact," Atkins said. "I think he would be just as proud, however, of his impact on the players that never made it."

Rowe was Tribe setup man Vinnie Pestano's first professional coach at Class A Mahoning Valley. He taught the right-hander how to out-think hitters, including a sequence he termed a "Texas Two-Step," which instructed Pestano to attack a batter with a fastball up and in before firing the next pitch low and outside.

"One thing you always noticed is that when somebody talked with Kenny, the other person always had a smile on their face," Pestano said.

Rowe also eased Josh Tomlin's transition from college ball. Known for his light-hearted attitude and deep arsenal of jokes, Rowe routinely referred to Tomlin as "Lefty," noting that the soft-tossing right-hander could have benefited from having a southpaw's deceptive arm slot.

"He would make jokes like that all the time," Tomlin said. "He kept the game fun. He wasn't as hands-on as a lot of people, but he didn't have to be. He'd get his point across in a way so you understood what he was talking about and then you wanted to go out there and do it."

Rowe made 26 career big league appearances from 1963-65, posting a 3.57 ERA in 45 1/3 innings. In all, Rowe coached for 35 years in the Appalachian League, Northern League, Minors and Majors.

"Whatever they asked him to do, he would do it," said Bart Swain, the team's director of baseball information. "He was just a solid baseball lifer."

APSU Hall of Famer and 10 Year Major League Baseball Player Jimmy Stewart passes away at age 73

ClarksvilleOnline.com
November 26, 2012

Clarksville, TN – Jimmy Stewart, the former Austin Peay baseball great who was a member of the University’s first athletic Hall of Fame class and enjoyed a 10-year major league baseball career, died Saturday in Tampa, FL.

A former Govs third baseman/shortstop, Stewart was inducted into the APSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978-79 along with George Fisher, Halbert Harvill, Dick Hays, Tom Morgan, Stella Schupp and broadcaster Earl Walton a year after Dave Aaron was the lone inductee when the Hall of Fame was initiated in 1977-78.

In the pre-1970s, Stewart owned the program’s highest single-season batting average when he hit .435 in 1961; he finished with a .369 career mark. As a senior, he was named All-Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) after he captained the Govs to an 11-4 record.

But Stewart was a multi-sport star. He was named All-VSAC in basketball during 1961, averaging 10.4 ppg and All-Regional in the NCAA South Central tournament after leading the Governors to a 22-9 record.

In track, he held the school record in 220-yard dash (22.6) for many years. The Opelika, AL, native was named recipient of the Joy Award in 1961 as Austin Peay’s most valuable senior athlete.

After college, Stewart strictly concentrated on baseball, where he played for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros from 1963-1973.

Stewart came up with the Cubs as a middle infielder in 1963. He was purchased from the Cubs by the Chicago White Sox during the 1967 season. After playing in their minor league system for two seasons, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds from the White Sox in the 1968 Rule 5 draft.

On November 29th, 1971, Stewart was part of a famous trade that brought future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, César Gerónimo, Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, and Denis Menke to the Reds from the Houston Astros for Stewart, Lee May and Tommy Helms.

After his playing days, Stewart served as a longtime scout, including 11 years back with the Reds.

According to reports, he played a major role in the trades that built the Reds’ 1990 world championship team, including those that brought the Reds Danny Jackson and Jose Rijo, anchors of that staff.

He’s also was credited with writing the scouting report on Oakland before the 1990 World Series that convinced Reds manager Lou Piniella that the Reds would upset the A’s.

Funeral services will be held in both Florida and Alabama.

Former White Sox pitcher Hal Trosky Jr. dies at 76; son of Cleveland Indians great Trosky Sr.

By Associated Press
November 25, 2012

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Hal Trosky Jr., who briefly played in the major leagues and was the son of the late Cleveland Indians great Hal Trosky Sr., has died. He was 76.

Mike Trosky, the younger Trosky's son, says his father died Friday at a hospice house in Hiawatha after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August.

Ads by GoogleTrosky was born in Cleveland and played five seasons in the minors after being signed by the Chicago White Sox out of high school.

In 1958, he pitched two games for the White Sox. The Iowa Baseball Hall of Famer stopped playing after the 1961 season.

His father played first base for Cleveland from 1933 to 1941 and the White Sox in 1944 and 1946. He hit 216 homers with Cleveland — the fifth-most in franchise history.

Former Cardinals outfielder Chuck Diering dies

By Stephen Deere
Post-Dispatch.com
November 24, 2012

Chuck Diering played for the Cardinals during baseball’s golden years — that 40-year period from 1920 to 1960 that produced the likes of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and, of course, our own Stan Musial.

Mr. Diering, an outfielder, never reached that level of a fame, but in his day, he was known as a ball hawk with tremendous speed.

Charles Edward Allen Diering died Friday (Nov. 23, 2012). He was 89.

Mr. Diering’s son Bob found his dad on Thanksgiving after he taken a fall in his Spanish Lake home. Chuck Diering died at a hospital several hours later. Doctors said he suffered cerebral hemorrhaging.

“We’re saddened by the news, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” said Cardinals spokesman Ron Watermon. “He was a hometown product, a hometown hero, and he will be missed.”

Mr. Diering grew up playing baseball on streets and playgrounds of St. Louis.

When he graduated from Beaumont High School in 1940, he was recruited by both the city’s professional teams — the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. Mr. Diering chose the Cardinals because a friend’s dad worked for the organization as a scout.

But then Mr. Diering put his career on hold for four years to serve in the Army during World War II.

When he returned to the major leagues, he played for the Cardinals for five years, then went on to stints with the New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles.

The biggest moment of Mr. Diering’s career came in 1954, when the Orioles named him their Most Valuable Player in their first year in Baltimore after the St. Louis Browns moved there. The honor came with a trophy and some cash.

That year, Mr. Diering had hoped to win the team’s other award: Most Popular Player. That winner would receive a Cadillac. But that award went to pitcher “Bullet” Bob Turley.

Turns out, Mr. Diering was glad about the way things worked out. His granddaughter Kristen interviewed him for a short documentary she posted on Youtube this past summer.

“One thing I can say about it is Bob Turley doesn’t have the Cadillac,” Mr. Diering said at the time. “But I’ve still got my trophy.”

After baseball, Mr. Diering owned a car dealership in Alton. Until his death, he lived in a Spanish Lake home that he built in 1957.

Bob Diering said his dad never lost his love of the game.

“If you wanted to sit down and talk baseball, he would sit there and talk baseball,” Diering said. “He would smoke your ears talking.”

In addition to his son Bob, Mr. Diering is survived by another son, Chuck, and a daughter.

Funeral arrangements are pending.