In Memoriam

[hudsonharden]

This thread is dedicated to the lives of players that have recently passed away, so feel free to post news, obits, etc. There has been some discussion in Web Improvements as to whether this thread is better off in CE or History, or whether it should be a subforum or a sticky and whatnot. If you have a strong opinion as to one of those, post it in Web Improvements or the Mods Only thread.

[hudsonharden]

Vern Ruhle, who stepped in for J.R. Richard and delivered the best season of 
his career to help the Astros reach the playoffs for the first time in 1980, 
died late Saturday night from complications of a donor stem cell transplant 
at MD Anderson.Ruhle, 55, spent most of the 2006 season away from baseball 
after learning that he had multiple myeloma. He was informed he had that 
cancer of the bone marrow after a routine physical last February at spring 
training with the Cincinnati Reds.

He had been with the Cincinnati organization since 2004, when he served 
as the pitching coach at Class A Rookie League Billings. He became the Reds’ 
major-league pitching coach on June 21, 2005, but he handled other duties in 
2006 while he sought treatment.

To be closer to his home in Sarasota, Fla., the Reds named him recently as 
the club’s pitching rehabilitation coordinator at the Reds’ minor-league 
facility in Sarasota.

“I would like to thank members of the Reds’ front office, players and coaches
 for their concerns and support during this difficult time in our family,” 
Ruhle’s widow, Sue, said in a statement released by the Reds.

“I cannot say enough good things about the doctors and nursing staff at MD 
Anderson Cancer Center for their medical expertise, comfort and care during 
the last year. They were a tremendous support system for Vern and our family.”


Ruhle is survived by his wife, Sue, daughter Rebecca, son Kenny, parents 
Robert and Vivian, brothers Ron and Roy and sisters Suzanne, Judy, Mary 
and Jane.

Ruhle, who played his first four seasons with the Detroit Tigers, spent seven 
of his 13 major league seasons with the Astros. After he was released by 
Detroit, he signed a minor-league contract on March 29, 1978, with Houston 
and was a key member of the 1980 team that got within a game of reaching 
the World Series.

“Vern was just a real fine pitcher and, more importantly, a real fine guy,” 
said Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith, the general manager 
of the 1980 club. “He coached for us in the minor leagues and also in the 
majors. We were just very fond of him. It’s just sad news. He was a class 
person and a real asset to the game.”

Ruhle, 55, is the second key member of the Astros’ 1980 pitching staff to 
die in the last three months. Knuckleballer Joe Niekro, the franchise’s all-
time leader in victories, died on Oct. 27 after suffering a brain aneurysm 
the previous day. Ruhle was manager Larry Dierker’s pitching coach with 
the Astros from 1997 until the 2000 All-Star break.

Dierker estimates that Ruhle may have been a better teacher because as
a player he had to work harder than most to compete.

“He made it because he worked hard at it,” Dierker said. “He wasn’t the 
most talented guy, but he worked hard. Usually the guys that fit that 
description make better teachers because they learned to make the most 
of their abilities.”

When needed most after Richard suffered a stroke, Ruhle delivered for the
1980 Astros that lost 3-2 in the best-of-five National League Championship 
Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA over 28 games (22 starts) in 1980, including a 
6-2 finish as the Astros sealed their first NL West pennant.

“There’s no way, no way (the Astros reach the 1980 playoffs without Ruhle),” 
Dierker said. “There wasn’t anybody else that the organization had that was 
available or remotely ready like Vern to step up after J.R. Richard was lost. 
Of course Vern did the best pitching of his life under those tough 
circumstances.

“He was the right man for the job. He was at the right place at the right time 
and he did the best pitching of his life during the most difficult 
circumstances.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4486753.html

[redlegsfan21]

Though it was not surprising, this news was shocked me. The last I had heard was Vern was doing fine but that was in September. My heart goes out to his family.

[Ubiquitous]

Longtime Sporting News Editor Lowell Reidenbaugh died yesterday. He was 87. He was the editor from 1958 to 1979 and retired in 1989.

[AutographCollector]

The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register

Friday, January 5, 2007

Bob Milliken, a Majorsville, W.Va., native who pitched two seasons in the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers, died Thursday in Florida, The Intelligencer has learned.

He was 80.

“It was really a shocker,” said his cousin, Slim Lehart of Viola, on Thursday. “His daughter-in-law called this morning.”

Born Aug. 25, 1926, Milliken played his high school baseball at Cameron High School and spent more than 58 years around the game, most recently as a scout, and had numerous World Series rings.

He made his major league debut April 22, 1953 and his last game was July 29, 1954. His career was cut short by an arm injury, though he finished with a 13-6 record and an ERA of 4.02 in 180 innings. In 1953, he pitched two scoreless innings in the World Series for the Dodgers.

Milliken never forgot where he came from and was known to come back to the area each fall to hunt deer with family members.

Lehart noted Milliken returned to the area in November for an annual reunion at Dry Ridge Community Building.

“He seemed in good health. He looked good, didn’t seem to have problems getting around,” Lehart said. “And he was hunting.”

Lehart said Milliken is survived by wife Martha and children Brian and Beth.

Lehart said Milliken had been experiencing health problems recently but had been released from the hospital when he suffered cardiac arrest and died.

[houfan]

Vern was great in 1980! He was kind and generous to fans, and will be missed!

Vern Ruhle, who stepped in for J.R. Richard and delivered the best season of 
his career to help the Astros reach the playoffs for the first time in 1980, 
died late Saturday night from complications of a donor stem cell transplant 
at MD Anderson.Ruhle, 55, spent most of the 2006 season away from baseball 
after learning that he had multiple myeloma. He was informed he had that 
cancer of the bone marrow after a routine physical last February at spring 
training with the Cincinnati Reds.

He had been with the Cincinnati organization since 2004, when he served 
as the pitching coach at Class A Rookie League Billings. He became the Reds’ 
major-league pitching coach on June 21, 2005, but he handled other duties in 
2006 while he sought treatment.

To be closer to his home in Sarasota, Fla., the Reds named him recently as 
the club’s pitching rehabilitation coordinator at the Reds’ minor-league 
facility in Sarasota.

“I would like to thank members of the Reds’ front office, players and coaches
 for their concerns and support during this difficult time in our family,” 
Ruhle’s widow, Sue, said in a statement released by the Reds.

“I cannot say enough good things about the doctors and nursing staff at MD 
Anderson Cancer Center for their medical expertise, comfort and care during 
the last year. They were a tremendous support system for Vern and our family.”


Ruhle is survived by his wife, Sue, daughter Rebecca, son Kenny, parents 
Robert and Vivian, brothers Ron and Roy and sisters Suzanne, Judy, Mary 
and Jane.

Ruhle, who played his first four seasons with the Detroit Tigers, spent seven 
of his 13 major league seasons with the Astros. After he was released by 
Detroit, he signed a minor-league contract on March 29, 1978, with Houston 
and was a key member of the 1980 team that got within a game of reaching 
the World Series.

“Vern was just a real fine pitcher and, more importantly, a real fine guy,” 
said Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith, the general manager 
of the 1980 club. “He coached for us in the minor leagues and also in the 
majors. We were just very fond of him. It’s just sad news. He was a class 
person and a real asset to the game.”

Ruhle, 55, is the second key member of the Astros’ 1980 pitching staff to 
die in the last three months. Knuckleballer Joe Niekro, the franchise’s all-
time leader in victories, died on Oct. 27 after suffering a brain aneurysm 
the previous day. Ruhle was manager Larry Dierker’s pitching coach with 
the Astros from 1997 until the 2000 All-Star break.

Dierker estimates that Ruhle may have been a better teacher because as
a player he had to work harder than most to compete.

“He made it because he worked hard at it,” Dierker said. “He wasn’t the 
most talented guy, but he worked hard. Usually the guys that fit that 
description make better teachers because they learned to make the most 
of their abilities.”

When needed most after Richard suffered a stroke, Ruhle delivered for the
1980 Astros that lost 3-2 in the best-of-five National League Championship 
Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA over 28 games (22 starts) in 1980, including a 
6-2 finish as the Astros sealed their first NL West pennant.

“There’s no way, no way (the Astros reach the 1980 playoffs without Ruhle),” 
Dierker said. “There wasn’t anybody else that the organization had that was 
available or remotely ready like Vern to step up after J.R. Richard was lost. 
Of course Vern did the best pitching of his life under those tough 
circumstances.

“He was the right man for the job. He was at the right place at the right time 
and he did the best pitching of his life during the most difficult 
circumstances.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4486753.html

[Captain Cold Nose]

My dad knew Ruhle when he pitched for Detroit. Ruhle and Joe Niekro. Both passed shortly within each other.
As nascarfn5 said, you hear they're doing ok and . . .

[hudsonharden]

NEW YORK (AP) -Jack Lang, a Hall of Fame baseball writer who for two 
decades had the pleasant assignment of telling players they'd been elected 
to Cooperstown, died Thursday. He was 85.

Lang had been ill for an extended period with a variety of ailments. He died 
at a rehabilitation center in Huntington, said his lawyer, Kevin Brosnahan.

Lang worked in the news business for more than a half-century and honored 
the reporter's credo into his final days. This month, before entering the 
hospital and sensing he did not have long to live, he called a colleague to 
be sure all the biographical information for his obituary was correct.

"He's a man that loved baseball to the core of his soul and he was a 
good friend and objective, as well,'' Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said.

"I knew him through my whole career and he was a consummate 
professional. When you were good, he said you were good. When you 
stunk, he said you stunk, and rightfully so.''

A fixture on the New York scene who covered Jackie Robinson's major 
league debut, Lang was honored by the Hall in 1986 with the J.G. Taylor 
Spink Award "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.'' At his 
speech in Cooperstown in 1987, he poked fun at his talent.

"I'm sure there are an awful lot of English teachers ... in my early years 
that must be whirling in their graves at the thought that I won an award for 
writing,'' he said.

Many elite players knew Lang for another reason.

"As Billy Williams said, 'You're the good-news man,''' Lang said in his speech.

As secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers' Association of America from 
1966-88, Lang was in charge of counting the Hall of Fame votes and held the 
job of telling players when they'd been elected. He called 44 in all, from 
Red Ruffing to Steve Carlton. Seaver was among the players who got Lang's 
call.

Lang often said his rule was simple: "Only call the winners.'' To phone a 
candidate who fell short on election day would raise false hopes, he said.

The only exception he made, he said, was for Roy Campanella. The former 
Brooklyn Dodgers catcher, who was wheelchair bound, told Lang he'd need 
extra time to react to the result and asked for a call, either way. After 
several misses, Lang eventually got to tell Campanella he'd made it.

Lang began his baseball career with the Long Island Daily Press in 1946, 
covering the Dodgers a year before Robinson broke the major league color 
barrier.

When the Dodgers left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season, Lang switched 
to covering the Yankees, and he moved over to the Mets starting with their 
expansion season in 1962.

The Press closed while Lang was at spring training in 1977. Within four 
hours, the News hired him to cover Seaver and the Mets.

Lang retired from the News at the end of 1989, then wrote a column for 
SportsTicker until 1997. He was a correspondent for Sporting News for more 
than 20 years.

"Jack was always a gentlemen with us,'' Mets owner Fred Wilpon said. "Jack 
loved the game.''

"He's from the era of 16 teams and traveling on trains with the guys. There 
was a different relationship with the beat writers and the players at that 
point. A good guy, a good man,'' he said. "He was in the generation of Red 
Smith and Dick Young.''

Lang was a member of Major League Baseball Scoring Rules Committee and 
was an official scorer at the World Series.

After serving as BBWAA's secretary-treasurer, he was given the role of 
executive secretary from 1989-94, a job created for him. He also arranged 
BBWAA charters during the World Series, flights that became known as "Air 
Langus.''

Lang was the author of "The Fighting Southpaw'' with Whitey Ford, "Baseball 
Basics for Teenagers'' and "The New York Mets: 25 Years of Baseball Magic.''

Lang was born on May 11, 1921, in Brooklyn and served 38 months in the 
U.S. Army during World War II before joining the Press in 1945.

He is survived by three sons and a daughter.

A funeral service was planned for Monday in Northport on Long Island.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16814376/

[hudsonharden]

ST. LOUIS -- Bing Devine, the St. Louis Cardinals general manager who 
helped build teams that won three NL pennants and two World Series in the 
1960s, died Saturday. He was 90.

Devine, who had been ill since Christmas, died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 
St. Louis, said his widow, Mary Devine.

"He had surgery, bless his heart," Mary Devine said. "He had too many little 
things, and he decided today was the day for him to leave. We were all there 
holding his hands.

"He had a wonderful baseball life, and he was still working for the Cardinals, 
and I tell you he would have worked for them for free."

Vaughan P. "Bing" Devine, was general manager of the Cardinals from 1957 
to 1964 and again in 1967-68, and helped acquire Hall of Fame players Bob 
Gibson and Lou Brock. The Brock trade with the Cubs is considered one of the 
most lopsided deals in major league history.

The Cardinals won World Series titles in 1964 and 1967, and the pennant in 
1968.

Devine also was assistant to the president, and then president, of the New 
York Mets in the late 1960s. He later served as president of the NFL's St. 
Louis Cardinals from 1981 to 1986. He eventually returned to work with the 
baseball Cardinals, as a special scout and adviser to general manager Walt 
Jocketty.

"He was a real pioneer in sports management," Cardinals president Mark 
Lamping said. "He was as well-rounded of a general manager as you could 
get. We'll certainly miss him."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseba...it_Devine.html

[janduscframe]

Didn't Vern Ruhle and Kirk Gibson marry sisters? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[hudsonharden]

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Art Fowler, who pitched for the 
Los Angeles Dodgers' 1959 championship team and became 
a pitching coach for five major league clubs, died Monday. 
He was 84.

He died at his home, his son John said.

Fowler, as pitching coach, won World Series rings with the 
New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978, under manager Billy 
Martin, his longtime friend.

"Art Fowler is a person who by all accounts loved life and 
the game of baseball," Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo 
said. "His humor and gregarious fun-loving nature will be 
remembered by all who were lucky enough to call him a 
friend, teammate, and coach."

In Fowler's second season with the Yankees, Ron Guidry 
won the Cy Young Award, going 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA.

Fowler worked as a pitching coach for 14 years. In addition 
to the Yankees, he was with Minnesota, Detroit, Texas and 
Oakland.

Fowler pitched in the majors for nine seasons, with 
Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels. He 
pitched in 362 games, mostly in relief, and had a career 
record of 54-51 with a 4.03 ERA.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Ruth Burch Fowler, 
sons John and Ray, daughter Cheryl and sister Ruth Gilbert.

Services are planned for Thursday at Floyd's Funeral Home.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2747312

[hudsonharden]

Dick Joyce, one of Cheverus High's all-time great athletes and a member 
of its Hall of Fame, died Tuesday in North Carolina.

Joyce, an overpowering pitcher who made it to the major leagues, lived with 
his wife, Jeanne, in Cary, N.C.

Joyce, 63, suffered from diabetes and heart problems, and underwent two 
major heart surgeries since October.

In 1961, the Boston Red Sox offered Joyce, who also pitched for Andrews 
Post in Portland, a $100,000 signing bonus -- an astounding figure at the time.

Joyce turned it down, opting to attend Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass.

He never regretted it.

In a 1961 story in the Press Herald, Joyce said: "I'd like to get as much 
education as possible and I probably never would finish college if I decided 
to try baseball right now."

Three years later, Joyce, who retired last August after a long career as an 
IBM executive, signed just before Christmas with the Kansas City Athletics 
for a reported $40,000.

After a minor-league stint in Birmingham, Ala., where he played with future 
Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers, Joyce was brought to the 
majors in 1965.

He pitched 13 innings in the majors and had an 0-1 record.

On Sept. 19, 1965, he started at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. In the 
crowd of 10,854 that day were numerous Portland friends and former Holy 
Cross teammates.

But Joyce lasted only a third of an inning. It was his last appearance in the 
major leagues. He developed arm trouble in 1967 and retired.

Joyce had pitched in four other big-league games and started the game that 
shortstop Bert Campaneris played all nine positions.

At Holy Cross, Joyce pitched in the 1962 College World Series. He was beaten 
by Missouri 4-2 but struck out 14. He had a 20-5 college career record.

At Cheverus, he won three straight Telegram League titles, including the 1961 
team that went 16-0 in the era before state playoffs. His three-year record 
was 22-8 and his American Legion record was 38-5.

At 6-foot-5 and more than 200 pounds, Joyce was imposing. In an era before 
radar guns, his fastball was likely 92-93 mph.

"I've never seen anyone better around here," said Pat Feury, a Cheverus 
teammate who has been involved in local baseball for more than 50 years.

"I remember a Legion game against Falmouth when he struck out 25 batters 
in nine innings. The first 11 batters he faced didn't even touch the ball.

"Dick had a very good fastball but his curve was devastating. He also had 
pinpoint control. With Dick and Joe Cloutier pitching for us, we never 
expected to lose a game.

"Dick's matchups with Eddie Phillips of Deering were events. It might have 
been the only time two Maine high school pitchers opposed each other who 
later made it to the big leagues."

Phillips pitched briefly for the Red Sox in 1970.

In 1960, Andrews Post went 35-0, meaning from June to June, Joyce's teams 
were 51-0.

Joyce, who also started on Cheverus' 1961 state title basketball team, was 
inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2004.

He was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, joining his 
dad, Jabber Joyce, also a pitching legend.

Dick Joyce is also a member of the Holy Cross Hall of Fame.

"Our school feels honored to be a part of his life," said Cheverus Athletic 
Director Gary Hoyt."We've very proud of the fact that Dick became such an 
accomplished athlete, family man and community leader. His loyalty to 
Cheverus and to the Greater Portland community, although he moved away, 
was always present in his life and everything he did. Dick was one of our 
very first inductees into our Hall of Fame."

A funeral Mass will be held Feb. 10 at St. Pius X, Ocean Ave, Portland at 
11 a.m. Following burial, a reception will be held at Cheverus.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/sp...0127joyce.html

[hudsonharden]

Lanier, Hubert "Max," 91, of Dunnellon, formerly of St. Petersburg, 
died Tuesday (Jan. 30, 2007) at Life Care of Citrus County and Hospice of 
Citrus. He was born in Denton, N.C., and moved to Dunnellon in 1973 from 
St. Petersburg where he lived for 25 years. He enjoyed a 14 year career in 
major league baseball as a left handed pitcher. He played with the St. Louis 
Cardinals, New York Giants and St. Louis Browns. He helped lead the 
Cardinals to three World Series appearances. He was a National League All 
Star in 1943 and 1944. He was an Army veteran. Survivors include two sons, 
Hal, St. Cloud, and Terry, Crystal River; a daughter, Ruth McGilvary, 
Dunnellon; a sister, Lucille Pierce, Denton; 10 grandchildren; four 
great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Roberts Funeral Home, 
Dunnellon.

http://sptimes.com/Obits/Detail.do?id=139319

Max Lanier, 91, Who Challenged Baseball’s Reserve Clause, Is Dead
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By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: February 9, 2007
Max Lanier, a leading left-handed pitcher of the early 1940s with the St. Louis Cardinals who was later barred from organized baseball for jumping to the Mexican League, prompting him to challenge baseball’s reserve clause in federal court, died Jan. 30 in Dunellon, Fla. He was 91.

Associated Press
Pitcher Max Lanier in 1942.

Max Lanier won 45 games from 1942 to 1944 as a starting pitcher for the Cardinals, who captured three consecutive pennants and defeated the Yankees in the ’42 World Series and the St. Louis Browns in the ’44 Series. He led the National League with a 1.90 earned run average in 1943, and he was a two-time All-Star.

In May 1946, Lanier was 6-0 and seemed headed toward his best season when his baseball fortunes turned.

The Mexican League, run by the brothers Jorge and Bernardo Pasquel and operating apart from the major league-minor league structure, was offering high salaries to lure players. Lanier, who was earning $10,500 with the Cardinals, agreed to a five-year Mexican League deal paying him $20,000 a year plus a bonus. He was among more than a dozen major leaguers, including his teammates Fred Martin, a pitcher, and Lou Klein, a second baseman, who went to Mexico.

But Lanier and the others soon became disillusioned by what they said were broken contract promises, poor playing conditions and an unfamiliar culture.

“We had one ballpark where a train ran right through the middle between the outfield and the infield,” Lanier told The Winnipeg Free Press in 2001. “In Pueblo, they didn’t mow the outfield. They had sheep there. They’d just let them eat grass before we played.”

Lanier tried to return to the Cardinals after a year and a half in Mexico, but the baseball commissioner, Happy Chandler, had levied five-year suspensions against all players who went to the Mexican League.

Lanier and Martin filed suit in federal court, maintaining that baseball had violated antitrust laws by depriving them of their livelihood. They challenged the longstanding reserve clause that tied players to their teams for as long as the owners wanted them, giving them little bargaining power. Lanier sought $1.5 million in damages, and Martin sought $1 million. Danny Gardella, a former New York Giants outfielder who also went to Mexico, filed a similar lawsuit.

Faced with the challenge to baseball’s contract structure, Chandler lifted the suspensions in June 1949, and the lawsuits were later dropped. Free agency in baseball did not arrive until the mid-1970s.

Lanier, a native of Denton, N.C., returned to the Cardinals in July 1949 and remained with them through 1951, then pitched for the New York Giants and the Browns. He was 108-82 in 14 major league seasons, and he later managed in the minor leagues.

In addition to his son Hal, a former infielder for the San Francisco Giants and the Yankees, and a manager of the Houston Astros, he is survived by his son Terry; a daughter, Ruth McGilvary; a sister, Lucille Pierce; 10 grandchildren; and 4 great-grandchildren.

After all those contract squabbles, Lanier found happiness with a club owner in 1953, when he ended his career pitching for Bill Veeck’s lowly Browns. Lanier told Donald Honig in the oral history “Baseball When the Grass Was Real” about the time Veeck had a Champagne party for his players to loosen them up after the team had lost eight games in a row. As Lanier recalled it, “We went out the next day, nice and loose, and lost our ninth straight.”

[milladrive]

Good to see a pic.

This is indeed sad news. Although we all have to go at some time, and 91 is certainly a ripe old age, Max, only 8 months ago, had to endure the death of his daughter, Betty Jo (66). I wouldn't be surprised if that loss hurt his will to continue.

As a kid I saw his son Hal play for the Yankees in the early 70's. In fact, I believe Hal was Manager of the Year for Houston sometime in the mid 80's.

With Max's death, there are only two survivors from the 1942 World Series champion Cardinals.

[hudsonharden]

CHICAGO (AP) -Ray Berres, a former major league catcher and 
longtime pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox, has died. He was 99.

Berres died Thursday of heart failure and pneumonia at his home in Kenosha,
Wis., the White Sox said Friday.

Berres was the second-oldest living major leaguer; Rollie Stiles, who pitched
for the St. Louis Browns from 1930 to 1933, is 100.

In 11 seasons, Berres hit .216 with three home runs and 78 RBIs in 561 
games. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1934, 1936), Pittsburgh Pirates 
(1937-40), Boston Braves (1940-41) and New York Giants (1942-45).

Berres served as the White Sox's pitching coach from 1949 to 1966 and in 
1969. Among the pitchers he worked with were Hall of Famers Early Wynn 
and Hoyt Wilhelm.

Berres was survived by his son, John.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...t.berres.0153/

[cjedmonton]

Steve Barber, the O's first 20 game winner, just passed away at age 67. Along with Max Lanier's recent passing, that makes two notable lefties in the past week. I certainly hope there won't be a third anytime soon.

R.I.P., Mr. Barber.

[hudsonharden]

BALTIMORE -- Steve Barber, the first 20-game winner in modern 
Baltimore Orioles history and the losing pitcher in one of baseball's wildest 
no-hitters, has died. He was 67.

Barber became ill last week and died from complications of pneumonia 
Sunday at a hospital in Henderson, Nev., the Orioles said Monday.

A two-time All-Star and a member of the Orioles' Hall of Fame, Barber was 
121-106 with a 3.36 ERA from 1960-74. The lefty spent the first half of his 
career with the Orioles and was traded to the New York Yankees in July 1967.
He later pitched for the Seattle Pilots, the Chicago Cubs, the Atlanta Braves,
the California Angels and the San Francisco Giants.

Barber's best year was 1963, when he went 20-13 with a 2.75 ERA. On a 
franchise that became known for its pitching, Barber was the first Baltimore 
player in the modern era to win 20 games.

The Orioles won their first World Series in 1966, sweeping the Los Angeles 
Dodgers and allowing a total of two runs in the four games. Barber was 10-5 
that year but did not get to take part in the Series, having pitched only 
seven games after the All-Star break because of tendinitis in his left elbow.


Barber started out the 1967 in impressive fashion, holding the Angels hitless 
before Jim Fregosi doubled with one out in the ninth inning. Two weeks later,
however, Barber pitched his most memorable game.

Facing Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader at old Memorial Stadium, 
Barber took a no-hit bid and a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning despite severe 
bouts of wildness.

Barber walked the first two batters in the ninth, then retired the next two 
hitters. But he threw a wild pitch that let the tying run score and, after yet 
another walk, was pulled from the game.

Stu Miller relieved, and the Tigers scored the go-ahead run on an error. The 
Tigers wound up winning 2-1 despite getting no hits. Barber's line that 
afternoon: 8 2-3 innings, 10 walks, two hit batters, a wild pitch and a 
throwing error.

A hard-thrower, Barber led the majors in walks and also topped the AL in 
wild pitches as a rookie. The next year, in 1961, he pitched eight shutouts 
and tied for the major league lead with Camilo Pascual.

Born in Takoma Park, Md., Barber signed with the Orioles when he was 18. 
Barber spent three seasons in Class D ball before jumping to the majors in 
1960 as was part of the "Baby Birds" staff that included Milt Pappas, Jack 
Fisher and Chuck Estrada, all of them in their early 20s.

Barber was 28 when the Orioles won their first World Series with a whole 
new staff of aces in their early 20s -- Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Wally 
Bunker.

Barber won 10 games as a rookie and won at least 10 games in six of his 
first eight seasons in the majors.

In 7 1/2 years with the Orioles, he went 95-75 with a 3.12 ERA in 253 
games.  Overall, he pitched 1,999 innings in the big leagues.

Survivors include his wife, Patricia; his son, Steve Barber Jr. of Ellicott 
City, Md.; three daughters, Tracy Barber of South Carolina, Danielle Ehlert 
of Wisconsin, Kelly McCarthy of North Carolina, and a brother, Richard 
Barber of Ellicott City, Md.

The Orioles said the funeral would be private and that plans for a memorial
service were incomplete Monday.

http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/mlb/44-816466.cfm

[ironman]

Lew Burdette died today.
MVP of the 1957 World Series when he pitched the Milwaukee Braves to their
only championship, died Tuesday. He was 80.

Burdette had been ill for an extended period with lung cancer. Family 
members were with him when he died at home, they told the Atlanta Braves.

A two-time All-Star and a member of the Braves' Hall of Fame, Burdette was
203-144 with a 3.66 ERA from 1950-67. He also pitched a no-hitter.

Burdette's greatest success came in the 1957 Series when he went 3-0 with 
an 0.67 ERA while pitching three complete games against the New York 
Yankees. He capped his performance with a seven-hit shutout in Game 7 at 
Yankee Stadium, finishing off a run of 24 straight scoreless innings.

``I have a boatload of memories about Lew Burdette,'' commissioner Bud 
Selig told The Associated Press by telephone from Milwaukee, where he 
grew up rooting for the Braves. ``I think what I remember most was that 
he was a tremendous competitor. He pitched in pain, he pitched to win.

---Lew Burdette, Braves P,
October 10, 1957, Yankee S., 9th Inning of
Decisive WS game with Yankees.
He won it, shutting out the Yankees for 24 consecutive
WS innings.

Source: Left: Big-Time Baseball, edited by Ben Olan, 1961, pp. 105.
img043.jpg lburdette.jpg

[hudsonharden]

NEW YORK – Hank Bauer, the hard-nosed ex-Marine who returned to
baseball after being wounded during World War II and went on to become a
cornerstone of the New York Yankees dynasty of the 1950s, died Friday. He 
was 84.

Bauer died of cancer in Shawnee Mission, Kan., said the Baltimore Orioles. 
Bauer managed the 1966 Orioles to their first World Series title.

A three-time All-Star outfielder, Bauer played on Yankees teams that won 
nine American League pennants and seven World Series in 10 years. He set 
the Series record with a 17-game hitting streak, a mark that still stands.

“Hank Bauer is an emblem of a generation that helped shape the landscape 
of our country,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. 
“He was a natural leader and a teammate in every sense of the word, and 
his contributions went well beyond the baseball field. His service to the 
Yankees, his country, and his family shows why I have been so privileged 
to call him a friend.”

Surrounded by sluggers such as Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, Bauer was a 
major ingredient in the Yankees' success during his years in New York from 
1948-59.

“I am truly heartbroken,” Berra said in a statement issued by the Yankees. 
“Hank was a wonderful teammate and friend for so long. Nobody was more 
dedicated and proud to be a Yankee, he gave you everything he had.”

Bauer played his last two seasons with the Kansas City Athletics, a team he 
managed in 1961-62. He also managed Baltimore from 1964-68 and the 
Athletics again in Oakland in 1969.

“He played on some of the greatest teams that ever played and brought the 
Orioles their first World Series title. That's saying something. He was a 
players' manager. He didn't overcomplicate things,” Hall of Fame pitcher Jim 
Palmer said.

“He was my first manager in the major leagues. He gave me my first 
opportunity (in 1965) when he could have kept other people. I was lucky; 
he was a Jim Palmer fan. You can't get in the Hall of Fame without your 
first chance.”

Bauer was voted The Associated Press AL Manager of the Year in 1964 and 
1966, when his Orioles swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. 
It was the only time he reached the Series as a manager, but he was a 
frequent participant in the postseason with the Yankees.

Bauer's World Series hitting streak stretched from 1956-58 when the 
Yankees dynasty was at its peak.

“Oh, it was a joy,” he said in a 1998 interview. “I was there 11 years and 
we won nine pennants. And we could have very easily won 10 in a row, 
because in 1954 we won more games than we ever did. We won 103.”

Cleveland won 111 that year, a rare interruption in the Yankees dynasty 
that stretched from 1949-64

Bauer enlisted in the Marines shortly after Pearl Harbor and saw action in 
a number of battles in the Pacific, including Okinawa and Guadalcanal, 
according to Hall of Fame archives. He earned two Bronze Stars and two 
Purple Hearts.

Bauer was wounded at Okinawa, hit in the left thigh by shrapnel in his 53rd 
day on the island.

“We went in with 64 and six of us came out,” Bauer said.

After he was discharged, Bauer signed with the Yankees minor league 
affiliate at Kansas City and after two .300 seasons there, he moved to New 
York in 1948. A year later, Casey Stengel became the manager and Bauer 
moved into the lineup as the Yankees began their run.

Bauer batted .320 in his second full season and became a fixture in the 
Yankee outfield alongside Mantle. The two outfielders became close friends, 
and Bauer was a pallbearer at Mantle's funeral in 1995.

Equipped with a strong arm, Bauer was a dead pull fastball hitter, a 
disadvantage at Yankee Stadium with its spacious left field. He once said 
that if he hit a ball to right field, it was an accident.

Bauer batted .277 with 164 homers and 703 RBIs. It was in the World Series 
that he excelled, from a Series-ending catch at his knees against the New 
York Giants in 1951 to his final Series appearance in 1958, when he hit .323 
with four homers and eight RBIs as the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves 
in seven games.

“Maybe I bore down a lot more in the Series,” Bauer said. “I had my luck. 
I had my good days and bad ones. I played for the right organization.”

In 1959, after the Yankees finished behind the Chicago White Sox, Bauer 
was part of a seven-player trade with Kansas City that delivered a young 
Roger Maris to New York. Two years later, Maris set a season record with 
61 homers, a mark that stood until 1998.

Bauer kept his Marine Corps crewcut through his baseball career and 
beyond. After he retired, he returned home to the Kansas City area, where
he scouted for the Yankees and the Royals. Later, he was a regular at 
Yankee annual Old-Timers' Days, an opportunity to reunite with friends 
from those championship seasons.

In the last week, two players whose careers intertwined with Bauer's days 
died. Steve Barber, who pitched for Bauer in Baltimore, died Sunday; Lew 
Burdette, who faced the Yankees in the 1957 and 1958 World Series, died 
Tuesday.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports...bit-bauer.html

[hudsonharden]

Former Astros coach Morris Medlock "Buddy" Hancken, who spent
seven decades in professional baseball as a manager, coach, scout and 
player, died Thursday in Orange. He was 92 years old.

Hancken's major league career consisted of one inning in one game as a 
catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1940. He did not get an at-bat in 
that game.

A World War II veteran, Hancken managed 10 minor league teams.

He was a coach with the Astros from 1968-72 and later worked in the front 
office in 1971 and 1991-92.

Hancken was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 
1994.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4568625.html

[hudsonharden]

[hudsonharden]

Former Wyandotte County Senator Sherman Jones, who also played 
Major League Baseball for three seasons and pitched for the Cincinnati Reds 
in the 1961 World Series passed away Wednesday at the University of 
Kansas Medical Center. He was 72.

Jones was first elected as a State Representative in 1988. After serving for 
three years, he was elected to the Senate, where he served nine years 
before retiring in 2001. His successor to the position, Sen. David Haley (D - 
4th District), followed much the same political path as Jones.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Haley said Friday afternoon. 
“He and Amelia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary not long ago, but 
it was more of a community celebration. He was such a staple in our 
community.”

A native of Winton, N.C., Jones met his future wife Amelia while playing 
baseball in 1956 for a team in Topeka, Kan. After playing professionally for 
three years, including stints with the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants 
and New York Mets, Jones moved to Kansas City, Kan.

In addition to his community involvement, Jones was a member of the 
Kansas City, Kan., Police Department for 22 years.

Jones, whose baseball nickname was Roadblock, appeared in game five of 
the 1961 World Series against the New York Yankees, pitching two-thirds of 
an inning. One of eight Reds pitchers in the game, Jones was the only one 
who did not allow either a hit or a run. The Yankees - a team that featured 
Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and Roger Maris in his home run 
record-breaking season - won the game 13-5, however, and the World 
Series, four games to one.

http://www.kansascitykansan.com/arti...news/news1.txt

[hudsonharden]

Clem Labine, a relief pitcher who threw two of baseball's most 
significant shutouts in his role as a part-time starter and pitched for two 
Dodgers World Series championship teams in the 1950s, died Friday. He 
was 80.

Labine had been in a coma at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach for 
more than a week following brain surgery to explore a mass in his head, the 
team announced, and hospital spokeswoman Kim Leach-Wright confirmed 
his death.

Labine was hospitalized Feb. 13 because of pneumonia, shortly after 
completing a stint as an instructor at an adult "fantasy camp" at the 
Dodgers' training camp.

"He was not recognized the way he should have been. He was a great 
pitcher, but he was surrounded by too many stars," said Tommy Lasorda,
 the former Dodgers manager who was Labine's teammate. "He played the 
game the way it was supposed to be played. He gave it everything he had, 
he got along with everyone and everyone loved him."

Labine spent 13 seasons in the major leagues, mostly as a bullpen specialist 
with the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles. He also pitched 
with Detroit and Pittsburgh, and briefly for the New York Mets.

"I always thought Clem would've had a great career as a starting pitcher," 
former teammate Carl Erskine said. "But he told me, `I didn't want to start. 
I liked the pressure of coming into the game with everything on the line.'"

In 1951, his first full major league season, Labine was thrust in the middle 
of the three-game National League pennant playoff between the Dodgers 
and New York Giants. After the Giants won the opener, Brooklyn had no 
regular starter available for Game 2. Labine got the assignment by default 
and threw a six-hit shutout to keep the Dodgers alive in the best-of-three 
series. Bobby Thomson's ninth-inning home run won the pennant for the 
Giants the next day.

The playoff shutout came in just Labine's sixth major league start and 15th 
game. He would throw another one, allowing just seven hits in Game 6 of 
the 1956 World Series and beating the New York Yankees 1-0 in 10 innings 
to force a seventh game, which the Yankees won. That shutout came a day 
after Don Larsen's perfect game, the only no-hitter in World Series history.

"He had the heart of a lion and the intelligence of a wily fox, and he was a 
nice guy, too," Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said. "He will be truly missed 
by all who knew him."

Labine played football, hockey and baseball growing up in Woonsocket, R.I., 
and volunteered for the paratroopers during World War II. He was signed by 
the Dodgers in 1946 almost by accident when a scheduled tryout with the 
Boston Braves fell through.

Labine came to Brooklyn in 1950, appearing in just one game. He was the 
handyman of the Dodgers staff in 1951, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.20 
earned run average and was comfortable as both a reliever and occasional 
starter. He won eight games the next season and by 1953, he had become 
Brooklyn's main man out of the bullpen, with 10 of his 11 victories that year 
coming in relief.

That season had a disappointing ending when he appeared in three World 
Series games against the Yankees and was tagged with two losses, including 
the decisive sixth game when he gave up the winning hit to Billy Martin in 
the ninth inning.

Two years later, in 1955, Labine enjoyed his best season, leading the league
with 60 appearances and going 13-5, with 10 victories and 11 saves out of 
the bullpen. The Dodgers captured their first World Series that year with 
Labine winning Game 4 with 4 1-3 innings of relief and coming back the next 
day to pitch three more innings and save Game 5. That season, Labine went 
3-for-31 at bat and all three hits were home runs.

Labine led the league in saves each of the next two seasons with 19 in 1956 
and 17 in 1957, making the All-Star team both years. Relying on a wicked 
curve ball and sinker, he had uncanny success against Stan Musial, retiring 
the Hall of Famer 49 straight times.

Labine accompanied the Dodgers on the move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles 
in 1958 and was with the team when it won the World Series in 1959. He 
was dealt to Detroit and then on to Pittsburgh in 1960 and went 3-0 with a 
1.48 ERA for the world champion Pirates.

After one more season with the Pirates, Labine was drafted by the expansion 
Mets in 1962. He appeared in just three games before retiring and returning 
to Rhode Island as a partner in a company that manufactured golf clothes 
and other sports wear.

Labine was a central character in "The Boys of Summer," Roger Kahn's book 
of reminiscences with the old Dodgers, which told of how the pitcher's son, 
Jay, lost a leg when he stepped on a land mine during the Vietnam War.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; son Clem Labine Jr. of Woonsocket, 
R.I.; daughters Barbara Grubbs of Reno Nev.; Gail Ponanski of Smithfield, 
R.I.; Kim Archambault of Smithfield; and Susan Gershkoff of Lincoln, R.I.; 
five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...s132605S81.DTL

[Ubiquitous]

Relying on a wicked curve ball and sinker, he had uncanny success against Stan Musial, retiring the Hall of Famer 49 straight times.

This isn't true, as a right handed pitcher Clem did well against Stan but he didn't even face Stan 49 times in his career.

For his career Stan's line against Clem was:
.238/.333/.381 in 42 at bats. 1 double, triple, and homer. 2 strikeouts.

[AutographCollector]

This isn't true, as a right handed pitcher Clem did well against Stan but he didn't even face Stan 49 times in his career.

For his career Stan's line against Clem was:
.238/.333/.381 in 42 at bats. 1 double, triple, and homer. 2 strikeouts.

Sooo.... 3 for 42 against Labine?