Sports obituaries

[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

[sox83cubs84]

Art Ditmar, a RHP who took the mound for two AL teams from 1954-62, died on 6/11 at age 92.

Ditmar's career found him playing for great teams and cellar-dwellers. He came to The Show in '54 with the Philadelphia Athletics, and went with them when the team moved to Kansas City after the season. He led the league in losses in 1956 with a record of 12-22.

An offseason deal sent him to the Yankees, for whom he appeared in 3 World Series (1957-58 and 1960). He began the 1961 season with the Yankees, as well, but was traded back to KC in midseason, and pitched there until the 1962 campaign, when he retired.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Odie Lowe, a center for the 1949-50 New York Rangers who notched a goal and an assist in 3 games, died recently at age 93.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Dick "Dirt" Tidrow, a king-sized RHP for 13 years in the Bigs, died on 7/10 at age 74.

Tidrow came up to the Majors in 1972 with the Indians, pitching there from 1972-74. Traded away by the Tribe early in '74, he then spent the rest of his MLB career performing the unusual feat of pitching for both teams in the two largest MLB cities at the time...New York and Chicago. First he was a Yankee from his early '74 arrival until an early 1979 trade sent him to the Cubs, where he came out of the pen through 1982. After that, he took the mound for the White Sox in 1983 before finishing his playing career with the Mets in 1984.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Rafael Carmona, a RHP who came out of the pen for 77 of his 81 MLB appearances over 4 seasons, died on 8/2 at age 48.

Pitching for the Mariners in 1995-97 and 1999, his best season was in 1996, where he pitched in 53 games (52 in relief), and went 8-3 with a 4.28 ERA.

Dave M.