Some Obituaries of Recently Deceased Major Leaguers

[westofyou]

Dick William died

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/hall-of-f...4.html?ref=904

Dick Williams, the fiercely competitive, sharp-tongued Hall of Fame manager who led the Oakland Athletics to World Series titles in 1972 and 1973, died Thursday at his Las Vegas home from what was believed to be an aneurysm. He was 82.

Williams, who retired to Las Vegas in 1991, is the only manager in major-league history to win pennants with three different teams -- the Boston Red Sox, Athletics and San Diego Padres. He had a 21-year major league managing record of 1,571-1,421 (.520).

Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 following his election by the Veterans Committee.

[muddie]

Always hate to see one of the good guys go. There ain't many left.

[cumberlandreds]

Excellent manager. Especially with younger teams. I remember him the most with the Swingin' A's of the early 70's. He resigned right after winning the 1973 World Series after tiring Charlie Finely's antics. He managed the Padres to their first World Series in 1984 and nearly got a 4th team,the Montreal Expos,to another World Series in 1981.
I also remember him as being the main instigator in one the biggets brawls I have seen. He was with the Padres and didn't like the Braves pitcher Pascaul Perez. Every time Perez came to the plate the Padres pitchers were throwing at him and of course the Braves were retaliating. All afternoon long their was one fight after another. Just a brutal afternoon of baseball. Williams was thrown out early but you knew he was behind it all. I kinda lost some respect for him after that. But that's who he was. A very hard nosed no nonsense manager.

[Bob Borkowski]

Add these recent names (among others) to the list of deceased from 2011:

Al Federoff - had a short stint with the Tigers in '51-'52 as 2b/ss

Hideki Irabu - see a RedsZone thread devoted exclusively to his death

Wes Covington - '57 World Series hero for Milwaukee Braves...played 11 years in the bigs including a few years with Phillies

Ted Gray - pitcher with the Tigers in the 40s and 50s

Time marches on.

http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html

[cumberlandreds]

I just heard abut Ernie Johnson's passing this morning. He was a good pitcher for the Braves in the 1950's but most remember him as an announcer for Braves games on WTBS. I always enjoyed his broadcasting style. It was a nice easy going manner. He would tell some good stories about his playing days too. He was 87.

http://erniejohnson.org/

[Chip R]

John Romonosky Jr.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dis...0571&fhid=8739

[Bob Borkowski]

Some names in the 'Recent Passings' category since the last time this thread was updated:

Mike Flanagan

Frank Fanovich

Jesse Jefferson

Danny Litwiler (former Red)

Bill Taylor

Johnny Schmitz (former Red)

Elmer Hodgin

Don Williams

Merritt Ranew

Roy Smalley, Jr.

Dave Cole

Ricky Adams

Matty Alou (see RedsZone thread)

Bob Forsch (see RedsZone thread)


http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html

[redsmetz]

Wow, some of these guys are way to young. I forgot about Flanagan and his tragic death, now Forsch and even Alou is young at 72. Heck folks keep telling me how young my Mom was dying at 83 earlier this month.

[camisadelgolf]

The majority of Americans born this year are expected to live 100+ years.

[redsmetz]

I saw Roy Smalley Jr's name and thought that I remembered him, but now I see I was thinking of his son (Roy Smalley III) who played mostly for Minnesota. Interestingly, Smalley is Gene Mauch's brother-in-law. Just looking at Smalley Jr's stats, he led the NL in strikeouts with 114. Such a difference from now!

[gilpdawg]

The majority of Americans born this year are expected to live 100+ years.

Really? That's a little surprising if true. I know the average lifespan is slowly increasing but that seems like quite a jump. If you had said 90 I wouldn't have blinked.

Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

[savafan]

Former Expo Charlie Lea dead at 54:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...rlie.lea.0158/

[Sea Ray]

Admittedly he wasn't a major leaguer but I didn't think it warranted its own thread either, but Mr Franklin, the guy who made batting gloves died last week at age 93. His obit is interesting:

He did not invent them. On Sept. 4, 1964, Ken Harrelson of the Kansas City Athletics was credited with starting the custom by wearing a golf glove to protect a blistered hand in a game against the Yankees. He hit two home runs.

But Mr. Franklin, who died at 93 on Thursday in Falmouth, Mass., was perhaps the father of the modern batting glove. He teamed with Mike Schmidt, the great Philadelphia Phillies third baseman, to design it and spread it through big-league clubhouses — and on to all levels of baseball.

Made by Franklin Sports, the company that Mr. Franklin and his brother, Sydney, started and led, the glove has been the official batting glove of Major League Baseball since the late 1980s. Miguel Cabrera, the major league batting champion in 2011, and Jose Batista, the home run leader, used Franklin gloves.

Of course ever the businessman, this line found in the last paragraph caught my eye:

Irving Franklin was particularly pleased about his batting gloves because the name of his company was so easy to see when television cameras closed in on a hitter. His other official major league products, cups and supporters, were not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/sp...ref=obituaries

[redsmetz]

Don Mueller, one-time Giants outfielder in the 1950's died. Interesting back story in his obit, his part in the inning when Bobby Thomson hit his clinching home run ("Giants win the pennant..."). It's also always interesting to see players who had good careers who are unheralded today. A baseball career is a bit of a quick flare, if you will.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/31/sp...l?ref=baseball

[redsmetz]

Andy Carey, Yankees' 3rd baseman for most of the 50's died last week - two key plays in Don Larsen's perfect game, according to the story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/sp...1&ref=baseball