Saturday, May 27, 2017

RIP - Jim Bunning

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It's been a bad year for ex-Phillies... 

Former Tiger's and Phillies' ace pitcher Jim Bunning passed away on May 26, 2017 at age 85.


Bunning pitched for the Tigers from 1955-1963, and for the Phillies from 1964-67, and 1970-71. In his first season with the Phillies, this father of 9 pitched a perfect game on Fathers' Day.

He retired after the 1971 season, and after a stint as a minor-league manager for the Phillies, he went into politics, eventually becoming a US senator for Kentucky.

Philadelphia Inquirer obituary
 
Larry Bowa's recollections of Jim Bunning. Bunning and Bowa were teammates during Bowa's first 2 (Bunning's last 2) seasons.

ESPN obituary

Here is Jim Bunning's page in my 1967 Phillies yearbook (which I just found a few weeks ago after moving).


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Wednesday, May 3, 2017

RIP - Sam Mele

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Sam Mele, the Twins' manager from 1961-1967, passed away on May 1, 2017 at age 95.

At the time of his death, he was the oldest living person with a card in the 1967 Topps set.

That distinction now goes to Cardinals' manager Red Schoendienst (age 94, and #18 on the list of the 100 oldest living ex-players). The oldest living PLAYER from the 1967 card set is Elroy Face (age 89, and also #89 on the top-100 list).


Mele managed the Twins from their first season in Minnesota (1961) through the first 50 games of the 1967 season. His Twins won the AL pennant in 1965, before losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

After his dismissal by the Twins, he worked as a scout for the Red Sox from mid-1967 until retiring in 1994.

He was also an outfielder for 6 teams from 1947-1956, primarily the Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox.

TwinCities.com obituary

New York Times obituary