Sports obituaries

[sox83cubs84]

George Spriggs, a LH hitting OF/PH who played for 5 seasons in the Big Leagues, died on 12/22 at age 83.

Spriggs was an original Royal, playing for Kansas City in both 1969 and 1970. Before that, he saw limited action with the Pirates from 1965-67.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Ron Samford, a SS-2B who played for 3 different teams in the 1950s, died 1/14 at age 90.

Samford was part of the 1954 World Series winning New York Giants, although he didn't make the Series roster. He played in 1 game for the Tigers in 1955, and spent more time with them in 1957, before ending his MLB career with the Senators in 1959

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Billy Conigliaro, an OF who played for 5 years with 3 different AL teams, died on 2/10 at age 73.

Billy came to the Majors in 1969 with the Red Sox, and was a teammate of his brother Tony in 1969 and 1970. He remained with Boston through 1971, after which he spent 1972 with the Brewers and finished his MLB career with Oakland in 1973. During his time with the Athletics, he wore a jersey with a NOB of a non-standard nature (BILLY C.)

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Wynn Hawkins, a RHP who served as both a starter and reliever for the Indians from 1960-62, died on 2/11, nine days shy of his 85th birthday.

Hawkins was the pitcher who yielded Ted Williams' 500th HR

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Jim Snyder, a 2B for the Twins in the early 1960s, died on 3/9 at age 88.

Snyder was a September call-up for Minnesota in 1961, and was a back-up 2B in 1962 and 1964.

He also spent most of the 1988 season as manager of the Seattle Mariners. Taking over the post from Dick Williams, Snyder went 45-60 as the manager.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Randy Tate, a RHP who went 5-13 as a starting pitcher in his only MLB season with the 1975 Mets, died on 3/25 at age 68.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Adrian Garrett, a LH PH-C-OF with 4 MLB teams during his 8 years in The Show, died on 4/22 at age 78.

Garrett first appeared in the Majors in 1966 with 4 games played for the first Atlanta Braves team. After serving in the military, he returned in 1970, appearing in 3 games with the Cubs. After 2 seasons with Oakland in 1971-72, he was dealt back to the Cubs, playing with them from 1973-75, joining the Angels for the later portion of '75, and remaining there in 1976 before retiring. His brother is 1969 Mets champion Wayne Garrett.

Dave M.