Wednesday, January 30, 2013

RIP - Chuck Hinton


These notices are coming all too frequently....


1960s' outfielder Chuck Hinton passed away on January 27, 2013 at age 78 from Parkinson's disease.

Hinton played outfield for the Washington Senators (1961-64), the Cleveland Indians (1965-71), and the California Angels (1968).


After his playing career, Hinton was the head baseball coach at Howard University for 28 years. One of his players there was ex-Phillies' and Cardinals' outfielder Milt Thompson.

In 1982, Hinton was the founder of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.

Washington Post obituary

MLB.com obituary

and a lengthy tribute from The Hardball Times

 

Monday, January 28, 2013

RIP - Ed Bouchee


Former big-league first baseman Ed Bouchee passed away on January 23, 2013 at age 79 in Phoenix, AZ, of complications from diabetes.

Bouchee was drafted into the military near the end of the Korean War, and missed 2 seasons of baseball. He played for the Phillies (1956-60) and Cubs (1960-61), before finishing his career with the expansion Mets in 1962.

He finished 2nd in the 1957 NL Rookie of the Year voting to his teammate, pitcher Jack Sanford.


After his career, he settled in the Chicago area and worked in the auto parts industry.

Obituary


 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

RIP - Fred Talbot


Fred Talbot, who pitched for five teams in the 1960s, passed away on January 11, 2013 at age 71. He was pre-deceased by his wife and his son, Fred Talbot III.

Obituary


Although I had already collected Talbot's '67 and '68 Yankees cards, I became more aware of him after reading Jim Bouton's book Ball Four in 1971. I recall that Talbot was somewhat of a nemesis for Bouton, although Bouton speaks well of Talbot in his guest book entry at the above obituary link.

Talbot had an 8-year major-league career (1963-70) with the White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Oakland Athletics.

From a White Sox blog

From NBC Sports

And some funny recollections of Talbot, Bouton, etc from readers of Ball Four
.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

RIP - Earl Weaver


Hall of Fame Orioles' manager Earl Weaver passed away early this morning of a heart attack at age 82. He was taking part in an Orioles' fantasy cruise in the Caribbean.

Obituary

Weaver never played major-league ball, but played in the minors from 1948-1960, with the Cardinals, Pirates, and Orioles.

He began his managing career as a player-manager from 1956-59, then became a full-time manager in the Orioles' chain in 1961. Weaver took over the Orioles' managing post from Hank Bauer in game #83 of the 1968 season, and stayed on through the 1982 season. The Orioles won the AL pennant in each of Weaver's first 3 full seasons, and won the World Series in 1970. He also won the AL crown in 1979.

After broadcasting the 1983 World Series (where the Orioles beat the Phillies), Weaver returned as O's skipper for 1985 and 1986, before retiring.

His #4 was retired by the Orioles in 1982, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

RIP - Jim Cosman

Former Cardinals' pitcher Jim Cosman passed away on January 7, 2013 at age 69. He had been battling Alzheimer's disease for a decade.

Cosman pitched in the minors from 1963-71 (mostly for the Cardinals) and appeared with St. Louis for 11 games in 1966-67, and 1 game for the Cubs in 1970.


After baseball, he worked in the waste management industry, working his way up from driver to executive, and was the CEO of Republic Services until his retirement in 2000.

Obituary

Baseball story

See also

Blog entry by Wrigley Wax
 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

1960s Blog Hall of Fame (#3)

 

Time for the 1960s Blog Hall of Fame election again. Here's where we've been so far.

I'm getting the jump on the MLB Hall of Fame this time. Below are the nominees for election to the 1960s Blog Hall of Fame.

Ten players receiving between 15% and 74% of the vote on the last ballot have been carried over. Another six players were added to the ballot.

Holdovers:

Dick Allen (3B/1B)
Jim Bunning (P)
Rod Carew (2B)
Orlando Cepeda (1B/OF)
Whitey Ford (P)
Roger Maris (OF)
Ron Santo (3B)
Warren Spahn (P)
Joe Torre (C)
Maury Wills (SS)


New to the ballot:

Jim Kaat (P)
Al Kaline (OF)
Eddie Mathews (3B)
Sam McDowell (P)
Billy Williams (OF)
Carl Yastrzemski (OF)

Vote for no more than 8 players. 75% of the vote is needed for election.