RIP - Bob Uecker

 

Bob Uecker (a/k/a "Mr. Baseball") passed away today, January 16, 2025 at age 90. He's the 2nd 90-year-old former player to have passed this week (with Felix Mantilla 6 days ago).

Uecker played for the Braves, Cardinals, and Phillies from 1962-67. 

 

Above is my first Bob Uecker card, which I got in 1967. About a month after I started following the Phillies in May 1967, he was traded back to the Braves, and finished his playing career that season. 

 

Uecker's last yearbook appearance

 

After his playing days, he was a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1971-2024. He appeared in the 1985-90 TV series "Mr. Belvedere", and 3 movies in the "Major League" franchise. He was also on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" about 100 times. 

 

MLB.com obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

  

2024 Re-cap

 

1960s' baseball players who left us in 2024:

And from outside the baseball world (centenarians in bold):

David Soul
Glynis Johns
Joyce Randolph
Charles Osgood
Melanie
Carl Weathers
Don Murray
Toby Keith
Richard Lewis
Steve Lawrence
Eric Carmen
M. Emmet Walsh
Joe Lieberman
Louis Gossett Jr.
Barbara Rush
Joe Flaherty
O.J. Simpson
Robert McNeil
Dickie Betts
Duane Eddy
Roger Corman
Dabney Coleman
Darryl Hickman
Bill Walton
Janis Paige
Parnelli Jones
Tony Lo Bianco
Jerry West
Anouk Aimee
Donald Sutherland
Martin Mull
Dave Loggins
Shelley Duvall
Ruth Westheimer
Richard Simmons
Shannen Doherty
James B. Sikking
Bob Newhart
Lou Dobbs
John Mayall
Greg Kihn
Wally Amos
Gena Rowlands
Peter Marshall
Phil Donohue
John Amos
James Darren
Sergio Mendes
James Earl Jones
Tito Jackson
Kathryn Crosby
Maggie Smith
Kris Kristofferson
Dikembe Mutombo
Cissy Houston
Ethel Kennedy
Mitzi Gaynor
Jack Jones
Phil Lesh
Teri Garr
Quincy Jones
Bela Karolyi
Chuck Woolery
Earl Holliman
Michael Cole
Kreskin
Greg Gumbel
Dayle Haddon
Olivia Hussey
Jimmy Carter
Linda Lavin

 

Football deaths in 2024

  

RIP - Gary Sutherland

 

(I've skipped 13 deaths since July 1st, but this one was one of my hometown faves back in the day.) 

 

Gary Sutherland, a middle infielder for the Phillies, Expos, and Tigers, passed away on December 16, 2024 at age 80.

Pictured above is my first Gary Sutherland card, which I pulled from a pack in early-1968. As a young Phillies fan, besides the usual choices of Johnny Callison and Richie Allen, I also liked Sutherland - maybe because on this card he didn't look much older than I was at the time. (He was). 

 

Sutherland's rookie season was 1967, and he platooned at both shortstop and left field for much of that season. After riding the bench in '68, he was drafted by the expansion Expos and was their regular 2nd baseman in their first season. 

 

After 2 seasons as a part-time player, Gary was traded to the Astros, then made his way to the Tigers, where he regained a starting role in '74 and '75. Sutherland bounced around to the Brewers, Padres, and Cardinals at the end of his career. 

 

After his playing career, he worked in the Angels' front office.

 

Obituary 

  

RIP - Pete Rose

Pete Rose, the all-time Hit King, passed away on September 30, 2024 at age 83.

             

 

Rose had attended an autograph show the day prior to his death.

Some stats: 

1963 NL Rookie of the Year 

First "$100,000 singles hitter" 

17-time All-Star, and at 5 different positions 

3-time NL Batting Champ 

1973 NL MVP 

1975 World Series MVP 

3-time World Series champ 

2-time Gold Glove winner (surprisingly enough) 

Career .303 batting average

4,256 career hits 

 

After Rose was banned from baseball, he was initially still eligible for the Hall of Fame. Although not on that first ballot, many writers stated that they were going to write him in anyway (ostensibly giving the fans what they wanted). 

 

The spineless minions running the Hall of Fame quickly scurried about, changing the rules to make him ineligible for induction, rather than letting the voters decide, and having the chips fall where they may. 

 

The Baseball HOF is topped only by the Rock and Roll HOF in terms of shady eligibility and voting practices.

 

Cincinnati Enquirer obituary  

 

Philadelphia Inquirer obituary

 

MLB obituary