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Post by TDalton on May 29, 2023 20:44:32 GMT -5
Mike Young hit the longest homer I ever saw. In AAA Rochester, he hit one over the centerfield scoreboard and it was still going up. It's a legendary home run in Red Wings' history.
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Post by jimsteel on May 30, 2023 13:15:27 GMT -5
Mike De la Hoz, a former MLB utility infielder, passed away at the age of 84. This was reported by the Baseball Almanac page and referenced by Wikipedia. De la Hoz was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1958 season, and played for the Indians (1960–1963),Milwaukee Braves / Atlanta Braves (1964–1967), and Cincinnati Reds (1969). He was primarily a utility player. De la Hoz made his major league debut at age 21 on July 22, 1960 for the Indians in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Starting at shortstop and batting seventh, he notched his first career hit, a fourth-inning single off Ike Delock. After four seasons with the Indians, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves on April 1, 1964. He played four seasons with the Braves, the last two of which came after their move to Atlanta. He did not play in the majors in 1968, and finished his career in 1969, playing just one game with the Cincinnati Reds. De la Hoz started a career-high 43 games in 1960, his rookie season, and 214 in all, with 83 coming at third base, 70 at second base, 60 at shortstop, and one in left field. He did his best job at second base, fielding .972 in 119 appearances. He was often used as a pinch hitter throughout his career. One game for which de la Hoz is well remembered took place on July 8, 1965 while playing for the Milwaukee Braves. He hit a pinch home run in the bottom of the 8th inning against Dave Giusti of the Houston Astros, tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with an RBI single off Jim Owens, and singled and scored against Ron Taylor in the bottom of the 12th on a Frank Bolling single as the Braves won, 9–8. De la Hoz's career batting total for 494 games include 280 hits, 25 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 116 runs scored, and a .251 batting average.5. De la Hoz was a 2010 inductee into the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame (El Salón de la Fama del Deporte Cubano).
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Post by jimsteel on May 31, 2023 0:03:10 GMT -5
Ray Fortin, a former NHL defenseman, passed away on May 7th at the age of 82. He was originally signed by the Blues as an amateur free agent in June 1967. Fortin then played in 92 NHL games for the St. Louis Blues from 1967-1968 to 1969-1970. Then, on May 11, 1970 he was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the Los Angeles Kings for Bob Wall. He never played in another NHL game and bounced around in the minors until he retired after the 1973-1974 season.
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Post by TTX on May 31, 2023 4:08:11 GMT -5
RIP
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 2, 2023 15:55:08 GMT -5
Willie Marshall, a former NHL center, passed away at the age of 91. Marshall held the all-time record for most goals, most points, most assists, most hat tricks, and most games played in the American Hockey League (AHL), registered over a 20-season career in the AHL. Marshall also played with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League over the course of four seasons between 1953 and 1958. The Willie Marshall Award, which is awarded to the AHL's leading goal scorer, is named after him. Marshal played in 33 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the following seasons. 1952-53 21 TORONTO NHL 1954-55 23 TORONTO NHL 1955-56 24 TORONTO NHL 1958-59 27 TORONTO NHL He won the following awards during his storied career in the AHL: Calder Cup champion (1955, 1958, 1959) AHL First All-Star Team (1956, 1958) AHL Second All-Star Team (1962) John B. Sollenberger Trophy (1958) AHL Hall of Fame (2006) Hershey Bears Hall of Fame (2012)
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 2, 2023 15:56:20 GMT -5
Lou Marcon, a former NHL defenseman, passed away at the age of 88. The following is an excerpt from Marcon's online obituary: During his early years, Lou took a keen interest in the game of hockey and developed his skills to an elite level, eventually achieving the pinnacle of professional hockey - the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings. Along the way, he had stops at the minor-pro level in Cincinnati, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Memphis, enjoying many experiences, including championship and personal awards and forging friendships that would last his lifetime. He played 60 games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings between 1959 and 1963. Upon completion of his playing days, Lou became a renowned coach in minor hockey at Thunder Bay, first as a player-coach with the Thunder Bay Twins, and later with the Thunder Bay Kings AAA program. In 2000, Lou was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Below are the teams in pro hockey that Marcon played on during his long career: 1951–52 Fort William Canadians 1952–53 Fort William Canadians 1952–53 Fort William Canadians 1953–54 Fort William Canadians 1953–54 Fort William Canadians 1954–55 Fort William Canadians 1954–55 Fort William Canadians 1955–56 Cincinnati Mohawks 1956–57 Rochester Americans 1956–57 Cincinnati Mohawks 1957–58 Montreal Royals 1957–58 Cincinnati Mohawks 1958–59 Edmonton Flyers 1958–59 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1959–60 Edmonton Flyers 1959–60 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1960–61 Edmonton Flyers 1961–62 Edmonton Flyers 1962–63 Edmonton Flyers 1962–63 Pittsburgh Hornets 1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1963–64 Pittsburgh Hornets 1964–65 Pittsburgh Hornets 1965–66 Memphis Wings 1965–66 Pittsburgh Hornets 1966–67 Memphis Wings 1967–68 Fort Worth Wings 1968–69 Thunder Bay Twins 1969–70 Thunder Bay Twins 1970–71 Thunder Bay Twins 1971–72 Thunder Bay Twins 1972–73 Thunder Bay Twins
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 4, 2023 12:37:48 GMT -5
John Sullivan, a former MLB catcher, passed away at the age of 82. This was reported on several sites. The following is an excerpt from Sullivan's online obituary: "He grew up and was raised in Somerville, graduating from Bernardsville High School. Subsequent to high school, John chased his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He played for numerous teams throughout the years and then became a coach. Many organizations and coaching positions culminated with his stint with the Toronto Blue Jays. The crowning achievement being World Series Champions in back to back years of 1992-1993. John loved baseball and would do anything to help anyone with the game. John, Betsy and their children traveled the country during his professional baseball career. In 1972 they moved to Dansville and that became their home base. Their permanent residence has been there ever since. After graduating from Bernards High School, Sullivan signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1959 and made his debut with them in the waning days of the 1963 season. He played in five major league seasons with Detroit (1963–65), the New York Mets (1967) and Philadelphia Phillies (1968), appearing in 116 games, with 59 hits in 259 at bats, batting .228 with two home runs and 18 runs batted in. His only substantial terms of MLB service were as a reserve catcher for the 1965 Tigers and 1967 Mets, for whom he played his only full season in MLB. He played eight years at the Triple-A level. Sullivan began managing in minor league baseball in 1973 on the Kansas City Royals' farm system. During six seasons, he rose from Rookie ball to Triple-A, winning four league championships and compiling a stellar .601 winning percentage (434 victories and 288 defeats). His only under .500 was the 1978 Omaha Royals, who finished 66–69, nevertheless topped their division and defeated the Indianapolis Indians for the American Association championship. In 1979, Sullivan began a 15-year run as a Major League coach, serving with the Royals (1979), Atlanta Braves (1980–81) and Toronto Blue Jays (1982–93). He was brought to Toronto by Bobby Cox after Cox's first term as Braves manager, and remained with the club under Cox successors Jimy Williams and Cito Gaston, coaching on the Blue Jays' 1992 and 1993 World Series championship teams. His final game was Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, during which he caught Joe Carter's game-winning home run in the bullpen. Sullivan's retirement was announced at the Blue Jays' championship celebration, and he was asked to unveil the 1993 World Series Championship banner at the end of the festivities.
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 4, 2023 20:36:48 GMT -5
'First Lady of Football' Norma Hunt - the wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar and mother of owner Clark - dies aged 85 four months after attending her 57th Super Bowl
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 4, 2023 20:40:46 GMT -5
Jim Hines, a former American track and field athlete and National Football League player, who held the 100-meter world record for 15 years passed away at the age of 76. In 1968, he became the first man to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters, and won individual and relay gold at the Mexico City Olympics. Born in Dumas, Arkansas, Hines was raised in Oakland, California and graduated from McClymonds High School in 1964. He was a baseball player in his younger years until he was spotted by track coach Jim Coleman as a running talent, and Hines became a sprinter. At the 1968 US national championships in Sacramento, California, Hines became the first man to break the ten second barrier in the 100-meter race, setting 9.9 (manual timing), with an electronic time of 10.03 – two other athletes, Ronnie Ray Smith behind him and Charles Greene on the other semi-final having the same official clocking. That evening, June 20, 1968, at Hughes Stadium has been dubbed by track and field historians as the "Night of Speed". Hines attended Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. He was a member of the Texas Southern University Tigers track team. A few months later, at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Hines—a black athlete—found himself in a tense situation, with racial riots going on in his home country and a threat of a boycott by the black athletes of the US team, who were disturbed by the controversial idea of admitting apartheid South Africa to the Games and revelations linking the head of the International Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, to a racist and antisemitic country club. Hines reached the 100 m final, and won it with the time 9.89 appearing at the screen, later corrected to 9.95. The 9.89 was taken from a light beam across the finish line, while the official photographic process used Polaroid film and took a couple of minutes to process and read. There was some controversy over how his (slower appearing) automatic time of 9.95 should compare to the hand timed 9.9 world record (Hines was again recorded at 9.9 in his 9.95 race). Automatic times start instantly with the sound of the gun, while hand times include human reaction time to start the watch. It took until 1977 before fully automatic timing was required of world records. At the fastest electronic time to that point, Hines' mark was recognized exclusively as a new world record. The race was also significant for being the third all-black podium in Olympic history. Hines helped break another world record, when he and his teammates sprinted to the 4 × 100 m relay gold at the same Games. After these successes, Hines was a 6th-round pick in the 1968 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, an American football team. Hines did not have the football skills to match his speed and spent the 1968 season on the practice squad. He was given the nickname "Oops" due to his lack of football skill. He appeared in ten games with Miami in 1969 catching two passes for 23 yards, rushing the ball once for seven yards and returning one kickoff for 22 yards. Hines then appeared in one game with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1970. He never played pro football again. He is one of the top 100-meter times by NFL players.
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Post by jimsteel on Jun 4, 2023 20:43:39 GMT -5
The University of South Florida is in mourning this week after the tragic news of a former student-athlete tragically lost his life. The U.S. Coast Guard retrieved the body of 32-year-old Jon Lejiste in a waterway in West Palm Beach. The USCG reached out to West Palm Beach police to gauge the public for help in identifying Lejiste since he was found with no identification. Jon Lejiste’s family had reported him missing over the weekend. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined the death is not suspicious, West Palm Beach police said.
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