Sports obituaries

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Another former pro athlete has succumbed to COVID19.

HOF DE Fred Dean passed away on 10/14 at age 68.

Dean played on 2 Super Bowl winners with the 49ers. He was an All-Pro twice and was named to 4 Pro Bowl squads.

Dean came to the NFL in 1975 with the Chargers, remaining there until mid-1981. He then joined the 49ers and stayed there until his retirement after the 1985 season.


Dave Miedema

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Dave Miedema

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Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan, part of the MLB playing landscape for 22 seasons, died on 10/11 at age 77.

His first tastes of The Show came in 1963-64, when Houston's team was known as the Colt .45s. He continued playing for Houston through 1971, and was traded to the Reds in the '71-'72 offseason, only to return to the Astros in 1980.

Of course, those years with the Reds are what made him a legend. Playing for back-to-back World Series winners in 1975-76, he also won 2 MVP awards, played in 10 All-Star Games, won 5 Gold Gloves, and led the NL in walks 4 different times.

In his final 4 seasons, he played for the Giants (1981-82), Phillies (1983) and Athletics (1984).

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Kim Batiste, a back-up 3B-SS for five seasons in The Show, died on 10/7 at age 52.

Batiste played for the Phillies from 1991-94. He didn't play in MLB in 1995, but returned for one final season in 1996, playing for the Giants.

He appeared in both the NLCS and World Series for the '93 Phillies, smacking a double in the NLCS in his only at-bat in both playoff rounds.

Dave Miedema

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Fred Wenz, a relief pitcher in the Majors for 23 years, died on 10/6 at age 79.

After brief stints with the Red Sox (1 game in 1968, 8 games in 1969), Wenz joined the Phillies in 1970, appearing in 22 contests. All of his appearnces during his MLB career were out of the bullpen.

Dave Miedema

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Whitey Ford leaves us

A career-long Yankee, Ford died on 10/8 at age 91.


The lefty first appeared in The Show in 1950, going 9-1. After two years spent in military service, he returned in 1953, and pitched on 6 Yankees World Series teams and also took part in 10 All-Star games.

After his career ended in 1967, his career totals showed a W-L record of 236-106,and an ERA of 2.75 . After retirement, he served as the Yankees pitching coach for several years.

Dave Miedema

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This weekend has not been a good one for Dodger fans, as 3 ex-Dodgers were reported as passing away over the last few days:

Lou Johnson, a well-traveled outfielder in the 1960s who is best remembered as a Dodger, died 9/30 at age 86.

Johnson's stint with the Dodgers was only for 3 years (1965-67), but his most notable accomplishments came in Dodger Blue, particularly in '65. He hit a home run in Game 7 of the World Series to help L.A. win the World Series in seven games against the Twins. During the regular season, he smacked the only hit and scored the only run in Sandy Koufax's 1-0 perfect game against the Cubs. The losing pitcher, Bob Hendley, threw a 1-hitter.

Sweet Lou, as he was known, had two tours of duty with the Cubs (1960 and 1968), two with the Angels (1 game in 1961 and a lot more in 1969). He also had brief stints with the Braves (1962) and the Indians (1968).




Ron Perranoski, a great Dodger bullpen star in the 1960s,, died on 10/2 at age 84..

Ron pitched for the Dodgers from 1961-67,and had one of the best seasons any relief pitcher has enjoyed. In 1963, Ron finished the season with 69 appearances (all in relief), a record of 16-3, 21 saves and a 1.67 ERA, all of which placed him 4th in NL MVP voting for the season.

Traded to the Twins in the 1967-68 offseason, Ron pitched for them from 1968 to mid-1971, when he was dealt to the Tigers. While a Twin, he led the AL in saves in both 1969 (31) and 1970 (34).

Ron remained a Tiger until late 1972, when he briefly returned to the Dodgers before calling it quits after one season with the Angels (1973)

Ron also was a longtime Dodgers pitching coach on both the MLB and MiLB level, and later did the same for the Giants.
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Charlie Haeger, a pitcher who performed for 2 season with the Dodgers (2009-10) was found dead near the Grand Canyon. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound ,while police were tracking him down as a suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He was 37.

Haeger's MLB career began with the White Sox (2006-07) followed by the Padres in 2008, and after that his 2 seasons with L.A.

Dave Miedema

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Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, one of the most feared and intimidating pitchers of his day, died 10/2 at age 84 due to pancreatic cancer.

Twice the Cy Young Award winner and the NL MVP in 1968, Gibson ended the '68 season with a record low 1.12 ERA. The 5-time 20-game winner also excelled in three World Series, going 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA. Over the course of his MLB career (1959-75, all with the Cardinals), his won/lost record was 251-174, with a 2.91 ERA, with 3,117 strikeouts.

Finally, during Joe Torre's managing days in the National League, he chose Gibson as his pitching coach not only with the Cardinals, but with the Mets and Braves, as well.

Dave Miedema

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Jay Johnstone, a longtime OF and PH and a Hall of Fame level clubhouse prankster, died on 9/26 at age 74, due to complications from COVID19.

Johnstone played for 20 seasons (1966-85) and was part of two World Series winners (1978 Yankees and 1981 Dodgers.) Other teams he played for include the Angels, White Sox, A's, Phillies, Padres and Cubs.

Dave Miedema

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Paul Pettit, a LHP who was the first player to receive a $100,000 bonus for signing with an MLB team, died on 9/24 at age 88.

Pettit has brief stints with the Pirates in 11951 and 1953.

Dave Miedema

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Jim Owens, a RHP who played for 3 NL teams from 1955-67, died on 9/8 at age 86.

His MLB career began with the Phillies, for whom he took the mound for the first 7 years of his career. The last four years in MLB as a pitcher came with Houston. Between those two multi-season stints was one with the Reds (11963)

His best season was in 1959 with the Phillies. Making 30 starts (and 1 bullpen appearance), he went 12-12 with a 3.21 ERA and 11 CG.

Dave Miedema

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Gale Sayers, a HoF RB who played his entire NFL career with the Chicago Bears, died after a long battle with dementia on 9/23. He was 77

Drafted after a stellar career at the University of Kansas, Sayers starred for the Bears from 1965-71, although he was disabled by knee injuries in three of those seasons. He led the NFL in rushing yards twice: 1966 (1,231) and 1969 (1,032). He was also valuable in returning kicks.

Named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1965, he was part of 4 Pro Bowl teams and was named to 5 All-Pro squads. He was inducted into the Pro Football HOF in 1977, the youngest inductee ever.

He also was named to the 1960s All-NFL team and tied a record by scoring 6 TDs in a game.

Dave Miedema

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Larry Wilson, a DB who spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the St. Louis Cardinals, passed away on 9/17 at age 82.

Among his many accomplishments were going to 8 Pro Bowls, being named to 5 All-Pro teams, and being named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1966.

He coached the Cardinals for 3 games in 1979, going 2-1, and then moved to the front office, where he was Director of Pro Personnel from 1980-87, and then took the role of VP/GM from 1988-93.

Dave Miedema

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Hall of Famer Lou Brock passed away today (9/6) at age 81.

Brock was among the best base stealers in MLB history. Acquired from the Cubs during the 1964 season for Ernie Broglio, Brock joined the Cardinals and helped them to a World Series championship in 1964. He did so again in 1967, and went to the Fall Classic with them in 1968, where St. Louis was beaten by the Tigers in 7 games.

Brock ended his career with 3,023 hits and 938 SB.

Dave Miedema

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Hall of Fame pitcher and Mets legend Tom Seaver died at age 75 on 8/31, the result of a form of body dementia and also implications from COVID19.

His list of career accomplishments is long and detailed:

1967 NL Rookie of the Year
3 Cy Young Awards
3 NL ERA titles
12x NL All-Star
Ace of 1969 World Champion Mets

Seaver came within one out of throwing a perfect game against the Cubs at Shea Stadium in 1969. It was broken up by Cubs PH Jim Qualls.

His arrival with the Red Sox came during the 1986 season after a trade with the White Sox, where Boston sent Steve Lyons to the Pale Hose in exchange for Seaver. One clever sportswriter termed the swap as "Cy Young for Psy-cho".

Career totals:

W-L record: 311-205
ERA 2.86
IP 4,783
SO 3,640

Dave Miedema