Sports obituaries

[sox83cubs84]

Leroy Keyes, a DB/RB for 5 seasons in the NFL, died on 4/15 at age 74.

An alumnus of Purdue, Keyes played for 5 years in the pros: 1969-72 with the Eagles, and 1973 (Chiefs). He was a 1st round draft choice, and #3 overall in the 1969 NFL draft.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Bob Plager, one of the NHL Plager brothers who spent 14 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL, died on 3/24 at age 78.

Plager's active playing career began during the 1964-65 season in the Original 6 days with the Rangers, playing there for 3 seasons. After that he spent 11 seasons skating for the Blues, one of the league's Second Six teams.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Phil Lombardi, a back-up catcher for both New York MLB teams in the late 1980s, died on 5/20 at age 58.

Lombardi played for the Yankees in both 1986 and 1987, and saw action with the Mets in 1989.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Ken Reitz, a 3B who played for 11 years in the NL, 8 of them with the Cardinals, died on 3/31 at age 69.

Nicknamed "The Zamboni" due to his sure-handed defense, Reitz was named to 1 NL All-Star team and won 1 Gold Glove during his career. In those other 3 seasons, he played for the Giants (1976), Cubs (1981) and Pirates (1982).

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Chuck Schilling, the 2B for the Red Sox from 1961-65, died on 3/30 at age 83.

His best season was his rookie season, in which he set career highs in games played (158), RBI (62) and BA (.249). He also posted his career high in fielding percentage (.991) and led the AL in plate appearances (738).

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Geno Hayes, a LB for 7 seasons in the NFL, died on 4/26 at age 33.

Drafted by Tampa Bay in the 6th round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Florida State alum remained with the Bucs through 2011, He followed that up with one year with the Bears and closed out his career in 2014 after 2 seasons with the Jaguars.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Terrence Clarke, a basketball star in his first season with the NCAA Kentucky Wildcats, died on 4/22 in an auto accident. He was 19.

Clarke had declared his intention to leave college for the 2021 NBA Draft, and was considered to be very likely to be picked in the draft.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Shaler Halimon, who took an off-the-bench role as a shooting guard and also as a small forward for 5 different pro teams, died on 4/19 at age 76.

From the 1968-69 season through 1972-73, Halimon played for 4 NBA teams (76ers, Bulls, Trailblazers and Hawks) and also for the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Del Crandall, a catcher who spent 16 years in The Show and later managed in the Majors, died on 5/5 at age 91.

Crandall, as a Milwaukee Braves catcher (1953-63) played in 8 All-Star Games, won 4 Gold Gloves, and was the starting catcher on both the World Series Champion Braves in 1957 and the NL pennant winning Braves in '58.

When he was promoted to the majors by the Boston Braves in June 1949, he became the youngest starting catcher in MLB history at that point (age 19). He finished second to Brooklyn's Don Newcombe in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and played for Boston in 1950, as well, before serving the next two years in the military.

When he returned to the Braves in 1953, they had relocated to Milwaukee and were in their first season in the Beer City. After he finished his time with the Braves, he spent the final 3 years of his career with 3 different teams: Giants (1964), Pirates (1965) and Indians (1966).

After he retired, he returned to the Bigs as a manager for the Brewers (1972-75) and the Mariners (1983-84).

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Mike Marshall, longtime RH relief pitcher, died on 5/31 at age 78.

Best remembered for his time with the Expos (mid-1970 through 1973) and the Dodgers (1974-mid 1976), he first saw action in The Show in 1967 with the Tigers. He was a Seattle Pilot in 1969, and then appeared in 4 games for the 1970 Astros before being acquired by Montreal.

After his trade to the Braves during 1976, he pitched there and started the 1977 season taking the mound in 4 games for Atlanta before being dealt to the Rangers for the remainder of the season. Following that, he pitched for the Twins (1978-80) and finished his MLB career in 1981 with the Mets.

He led the NL in games pitched in 3 different times (1972-74) and topped the AL in the same category once (1979). In 1974, he set an MLB record that has stood since then, taking the mound in 106 games, winning the NL Cy Young Award in the process. He was on 2 All-Star teams.

Dave Miedema