catfish hunter cause of death

[17] An outstanding fielder, Munson committed only one error all season. Cessna offered Munson a special deal on flying lessons if he would take them from FlightSafety International. [1][2][3] The Yankees honored him by immediately retiring his uniform 15,[4] and dedicating a plaque to him in Monument Park. [1], In 1990, Hunter was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. [10] Munson switched to catcher in his senior year in order to handle the pitching prowess of his teammate, Jerome Pruett (a fifth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 who never reached the majors). Already down three games to none, Munson went four for four in the final game of the Series at Yankee Stadium, but New York was swept by the "Big Red Machine." [15] Munson went two for three with a walk, one RBI and two runs scored. A fairly obvious comparison of opposing backstops was made to Reds manager Sparky Anderson during the post-World Series press conference, to which Anderson responded, "Munson is an outstanding ballplayer and he would hit .300 in the National League, but you don't ever compare anybody to Johnny Bench. During his senior year in November 1963, Hunter's right foot was wounded by a brother in a hunting accident; he lost one of his toes and shotgun pellets lodged in his foot. Diana Munson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Game 3 of the 1997 World Series in Cleveland. ", On August 6, the entire Yankee team attended Munson's funeral in Canton. The Yankees used the pair of Jake Gibbs and Frank Fernández at catcher for most of 1969. [26], Munson had been flying for over a year and purchased a Cessna Citation I/SP jet so he could fly home to his family in Canton on off-days. He recovered in LaPorte, Indiana at the farm of Athletics owner Charles O. His batting average in the World Series was .373. Hunter retired in 1979 after developing persistent arm problems. Torrez hit Munson with a pitch in the first inning, gave up a single to him in the fourth, and threw a pitch up by his head in the sixth. Known for his outstanding fielding, he won the Gold Glove Award in three consecutive years (1973–75). Master hurler Catfish Hunter’s presence on the mound struck fear in his opponents. He responded by batting .302 with 17 home runs and 105 RBI to receive the American League MVP Award and lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 1964. The A's also won their third consecutive World Series. On a telephone call at the time of Hunter’s signing, Finley asked Jim if he had a nickname. [34], Along with Billy Williams and Ray Dandridge, Hunter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown in 1987. Prior to the 1968 season, Finley moved the A's from Kansas City to Oakland. During the off season, the Yankees dealt Fernández to the A's. Two school buildings, which house several schools including Henry Lou Gehrig Junior High School, have since been built on the street.[38]. Munson was visibly upset by these comments when he got on the mic shortly afterwards.[23]. He is often referred to as baseball's first big-money free agent. In 1976, Hunter became the fourth major league pitcher to win 200 games before the age of 31 and the only one since Walter Johnson in 1915, preceded by Cy Young and Christy Mathewson. [5] Hunter never played in the minor leagues and his first major league victory came on July 27, 1965 in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. [4] Catcher Jerry Narron, who replaced Munson behind the plate that night,[28] remained in the dugout and did not enter the field until stadium announcer Bob Sheppard said, "And now it is time to play ball. [4] On September 20, 1980, a plaque dedicated to Munson's memory was placed in Monument Park. The youngest son of eight children, Hunter was born and raised in Hertford in northeast North Carolina. In the summer of 1967, Munson joined the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he led the Chatham A's to their first league title with a prodigious .420 batting average. In spring training, he was diagnosed with diabetes[24][25] and combined with his chronic arm trouble the disease began to sap Hunter's energy. [6] Twenty days later on December 16, arbitrator Peter Seitz decided in favor of Hunter, officially making him a free agent. It occurred on June 18 against the Baltimore Orioles when opposing catcher Andy Etchebarren knocked Munson unconscious on a play at the plate, dislodging the ball. Tied at a game apiece, and trailing 5–4 in the bottom of the eighth inning of game three, Munson hit the longest home run of his career, a 475-foot (145 m) shot off Doug Bird over Yankee Stadium's Monument Park in left-center field, to give the Yankees a 6–5 win. Munson had a career .357 batting average in the postseason with three home runs, 22 RBI and 19 runs scored. Two weeks after he won his arbitration, Hunter became the highest-paid player in baseball and highest-paid pitcher in history when he signed a five-year contract with the New York Yankees worth $3.35 million. [9] He played halfback in football, guard in basketball, and mostly shortstop in baseball. Munson's widow, Diana, also filed a $42.2 million wrongful death lawsuit against the two companies. All proceeds from the weekend benefit ALS research. Munson was not wearing the available shoulder harness restraint, only a lap belt, which contributed to the severity of his injuries. [16][17][18] Further details of Finley's history with Hunter gave the A's owner added negative publicity. Hunter has been the subject of multiple popular culture references. He is the first player in baseball history to be named a College Baseball All-American and then in MLB win a Rookie of the Year Award, MVP Award, Gold Glove Award, and World Series championship. The Yankees won three straight pennants with Hunter from 1976 to 1978. [11] He attracted scholarship offers from various colleges, and opted to attend nearby Kent State University on scholarship, where he was a teammate of pitcher and broadcaster Steve Stone. That same year, he won the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, making him the only Yankee to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards. [1][9][10][11][12] He had been courted by 23 of the 24 teams, including the A's but not the San Francisco Giants,[13] and refused higher offers from the San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals. He made 97 plate appearances, but drew ten walks and had one sacrifice fly, which gave him 86 official at bats, and allowed him to go into the 1970 season still technically a rookie. Two days later, his first major league home run was the second of three consecutive home runs hit by the Yankees off Lew Krausse in a 5-1 Yankee victory over the A's. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. [1][2][27] A month before his death, Hunter fell and hit his head on concrete steps at home. The Jim "Catfish" Hunter Memorial is located in Hertford. [29] Later it was revealed that Munson had suffered a cervical fracture on impact which resulted in paralysis, which rendered him unable to move. Hunter has been the subject of numerous popular culture references, including the Bob Dylan song "Catfish". [1][7][8] Hunter recalled being scared after he was declared a free agent. [14] He was batting .363 for the Syracuse Chiefs in 1969 when he earned a promotion to the New York Yankees. Combined with the hits he got in his final two at bats in game three, his six consecutive hits tied a World Series record set by Goose Goslin of the Washington Senators in 1924. [20] Hunter was also a competent hitter, with a career batting average of .226; in 1971 he hit .350 with 36 hits in 38 games. His older brothers taught him to pitch,[1] and his pitching skill began to attract scouts from MLB teams to Hertford. For the start of the 1976 season, Munson was named the first Yankees team captain since Lou Gehrig retired in 1939. Munson's locker was moved in one piece to the New Yankee Stadium. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. Munson batted .320 (8-for-25) with 7 RBI's in this Series and also caught Ron Cey's foul pop-up for the final out. The plaque bears excerpts from an inscription composed by Steinbrenner and flashed on the stadium scoreboard the day after his death: Our captain and leader has not left us, today, tomorrow, this year, next ... Our endeavors will reflect our love and admiration for him. The plane then hit a tree stump and burst into flames,[30] on Greensburg Road, 870 feet (265 m) short of runway 19. Finley was a successful businessman, and part of being a successful businessman requires understanding how best to market a product. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your co-operation. [5] He became the American League's first perfect game pitcher since Charlie Robertson in 1922 (excluding Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series), as well as the franchise's first no-hit pitcher since Bill McCahan in 1947 with what were then the Philadelphia Athletics. With Munson coming, Fisk elbowed the Yankee shortstop out of the way and braced for Munson, who barreled into Fisk. Munson attended Lehman High School, where he was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams and was all-city and -state in all three sports. Born in Akron, Ohio, Munson was selected as the fourth pick of the 1968 MLB draft and was named as the catcher on the 1968 College Baseball All-American Team. Catfish Hunter was born inside the mind of Charlie Finley. In September 1968, Munson married Diana Dominick at St. John's Church in Canton. So was Catfish Hunter.". Bob Dylan wrote the song "Catfish" in 1975. [36] His number 27 was retired by the Oakland Athletics in a pre-game ceremony on June 9, 1991, the first in the franchise's 90 years.[35][37]. Finley attempted to have the arbitration ruling overturned,[15] but was unsuccessful after several appeals. Unable to move due to what was originally thought to be the wrecked fuselage of the plane pinning him against his seat, Munson was trapped and Hall and Anderson were unable to free him in the only attempt they were able to make before flames engulfed the cockpit. He is often referred to as baseball's first big-money free agent. For this reason, he declined to choose a team; accordingly, his plaque depicts him with no logo on his cap. He was a member of five World Series championship teams. Amanda responds by asking, "Who's he?" [29], While on approach for the fourth and final landing on a different runway (19), Munson did not extend the flaps and allowed the aircraft to sink too low before increasing engine power, causing the jet to clip a tree and fall short of the runway. [5] His father was a World War II veteran who became a truck driver while his mother was a homemaker. In 1978, the Yankees and Royals faced each other for the third consecutive time in the ALCS. But he told great stories. 8-time All-Star (1966-67, 70, 72-76); American League Cy Young award (1974). [14] New York was closer to his home in North Carolina and the team played on natural grass. [16] For the season, Munson batted .256 with one home run and nine RBI. He batted .435 with three RBI and three runs scored in the American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals, and batted .529 with two RBI and two runs scored in the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. As Red Sox pitcher John Curtis let his first pitch go, Munson broke for the plate.

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