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Monday, September 26, 2005 |
A Death And A Remembrance
This just in: former Angels pitching coach and 1954 All-Star pitcher Marv Grissom passed away, from a long illness.
"One of my favorite recollections occurred in 1961, during the Angels' first spring training in Palm Springs," said Newhan. "Relief pitcher Ryne Duren decided to cap off a night of closing bars by chipping golf balls off his pitching coach's motel windows at 3 a.m. Finally, Grissom opened the door and shouted, 'Hey, Ryno, got sort of an early tee time don't you?'"Second, I stumbled across an old story about Lyman Bostock, the Twin and Angel who was killed in a freak shooting, by way of a followup post appearing in Touching All The Bases.
On Sept. 23, 1978, Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock was murdered. It is one of the most tragic chapters in baseball history. On the final day of his life, a sunny Saturday afternoon, Bostock went 2-for-4 in an Angels' loss to the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. After the game and with a rare night off, he made the short drive to Gary, Ind., to visit his uncle, Thomas Turner.Bostock was also famous for committing to give back a portion of his salary after his first year with the Angels -- on a then-astronomical $2.25 million, three-year contract -- was a disappointment. He didn't live to give out the money.At approximately 10:30 p.m., Bostock was riding in a car with Turner and his godchildren, Joan Hawkins and Barbara Smith. Bostock had known the women for 20 minutes.
A car pulled alongside. Barbara Smith could see her estranged husband, Leonard Smith, was driving. She told Turner not to stop the car. He sped through two red lights, but was forced to stop at a busy intersection.
Leonard Smith jumped out of his car and walked toward Turner's Buick. He was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun. No words were exchanged. Smith opened fire through the back window. Bostock was hit in the right temple. He crumpled to the floor, blood gushing from his head.
Three hours later, one of baseball's most appealing young stars was dead. He was 27 years old.
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