2017 – Long-time Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch passes away at 88. Having made his fortune through a pizza chain, Ilitch purchased both the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League in 1982 and the Tigers a decade later. While the Tigers reached the World Series twice during his years as owner but never won the big prize, he is credited with revitalizing the franchise.
Former C Mike Sandlock, the Oldest Living MLB Player, passes away at the age of 100.
Hall of Famer Monte Irvin dies at his home in Houston, TX at the age of 96. He was a star in the Negro Leagues before joining the New York Giants shortly after integration in 1949. He later became the first black executive to work for Major League Baseball.
2015 – Minnie Minoso, one of the first black stars of the American League in the 1950s and one of only two men to play in the major leagues in five different decades, dies in Chicago, IL at either 92 or 89, as there is uncertainty over his true date of birth.
2015 – Dave Bergman passes away from cancer at age 61 in Detroit, MI. The popular reserve had a key triple in Game 2 of the 1980 NLCS against Philadelphia.
2015 – Don Bryant passes away at age 73 in Gainesville, FL. The catcher played in 46 games for the Astros (1969-1970), but one happened to be the game he caught a no-hitter from Don Wilson.
2014 – Dr. Frank Jobe, the pioneer surgeon who performed the first ligament replacement surgery on pitcher Tommy John in 1974 and then popularized the technique that has saved hundred of pitchers’ careers, dies in Santa Monica, CA at age 88. He had been a medical adviser to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 50 years, continuing even after his retirement from regular practice in 2008.
Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner dies at age 91; in addition to his on-field exploits, Kiner was a New York Mets broadcaster from the team’s inaugural season in 1962, although he had slowed his pace considerably following health issues in recent years.
2014 – Veteran player, manager, broadcaster and World War II and Korean War hero Jerry Coleman passes away at age 89. An infielder for the New York Yankees from 1949 to 1957, he spent 71 years in the game, acting as a broadcaster for the San Diego Padres since 1972 – except for one-year hiatus in 1980 when he managed the Friars.
2012 – Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter dies of brain cancer in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. After becoming a perennial All-Star with the Montreal Expos, Carter led the New York Mets to a World Series title in 1986.