Sports obituaries

[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]

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]

Joe Beckwith, a RHP who took the mound for two MLB teams over 7 seasons, died on 5/22 at age 66.

Beckwith is best remembered by most as a Dodger (1979-80, 1982-83, 1986), he also pitched for the Royals (1984-85), and was part of their 1985 World Series Championship team.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Jerry Burns, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for 6 seasons, did on 5/12 at age 94.

Burns was the field boss for the Vikings from 1986-91, and took his team to the NFC playoffs in 3 straight seasons (1987-89).

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Richie Scheinblum, a reserve OF for the Indians and 5 other teams over an 8-year MLB career, died on 5/10 at age 78.

After spending all or part of his first four seasons with Cleveland, he bounced around, appearing with thee expansion Senators, Royals, Reds, Angels and Cardinals. He was a solid reserve outfielder who only played in at least 100 games in a season thrice (1969 Indians, 102, 1972 Royals, 134 and 1973 Reds/Angels, 106.)

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Rennie Stennett, a native of Panama who played mostly 2B and SS for 11 years in the NL, died 5/18 at age 70.

Stennett came to the Bigs during the 1971 season with Pittsburgh, with whom he earned 2 World Series rings (1971 and 1979). After the latter, he played his final 2 seasons with the Giants.

In a game at Wrigley Field in 1975 that I attended, Stennett went 7-for-7 at the plate in a 22-0 annihilation of the Cubs. He became the first (and still only) MLB player to go 7-for-7 in a 9-inning game.

Dave Miedema

[sox83cubs84]

Colt Brennan, a QB who played college football at Hawaii and who was a 6th round pick by the Redskins in the 2008 NFL Draft, died on 5/11 at age 37.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Hal Breeden, a 1B-PH for five years in the NL, died on 5/3 at age 76.

Breeden came to The Show in 1971 with the Cubs, and followed up with 4 seasons as a Montreal Expo.

His brother is



Danny Breeden, a back-up catcher for the Cubs and Reds over parts of 2 seasons.

Dave Miedema

[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]

Ray Miller, a longtime coach in MLB who managed both the Twins (1985-86) and the Orioles (1998-99) died earliert his week at age 76.

Miller's minor league pitching career spanned 10 seasons, mostly in the farm systems of Cleveland and Baltimore, although his initial season in pro ball was spent in the Giants organization (1964). Although his final 5 seasons of pitching were at the Triple-A level, h nver pitched in the Majors.

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]

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]

Granville Waiters, a center for 5 NBA seasons in the 1980s, died on 3/23 at age 60.

The ex-Buckeye spent 2 seasons (1983-84 and 1984-85) with the Pacers, the next season with Houston, and his last 2 NBA campaigns with the Bulls.

Dave M.

[sox83cubs84]

Pete Lammons, a TE who spent 6 of his 7 years in pro football with the New York Jets, died on 4/29 at age 77.

Drafted by the Jets in the 1966 AFL Draft after a college career at Texas, Lammons was part of the fabled Super Bowl 3 Jets Champions, and also appeared in 1 Pro Bowl. His career ended in 1972 with Green Bay.

Over his 7 seasons in the NFL and AFL, he only missed 3 gams.

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