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Ex-Dodger
John Roseboro Dies at 69
08/19/02 16:45 EDT
.c The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher John
Roseboro, forever remembered as the player Juan Marichal clubbed over the
head with a bat during a game in 1965, died at 69.
Roseboro died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said
publicist Carole Wade.
The cause of death was not specified. Wade said that
Roseboro's reported medical problems recently included heart trouble,
prostate cancer and strokes.
Roseboro, who succeeded Roy Campanella as the Dodgers'
full-time catcher, played for Los Angeles from 1957-67 and was a four-time
All-Star. He was the starting catcher in the 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1966
World Series, with the Dodgers winning the championship the first three
times.
Still, Roseboro will always be known for the attack on Aug.
22, 1965, at Candlestick Park.
Marichal contended Roseboro returned a pitch close to his
head while he was batting. The future Hall of Fame pitcher hit Roseboro
over the head twice, opening a 2-inch gash that sent blood flowing down
the catcher's face.
The Giants and Dodgers, already heated rivals battling for
the NL pennant, got into a brawl that lasted 14
minutes.
NL president Warren Giles suspended Marichal for eight
games and fined him $1,750. He also forbid Marichal from traveling to Los
Angeles for the final Giants-Dodgers series of the
season.
Roseboro said he did nothing to provoke Marichal and later
sued him for $110,000 in damages.
After years of bitterness, they became friends in the
1980s, getting together occasionally at old-timers' games or golf
tournaments.
``Our friendship is very good,'' Marichal said on the 25th
anniversary of the beating.
A left-handed hitter, Roseboro had a lifetime batting
average of .249 in 14 seasons with the Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and
Washington Senators. He was a member of the National League All-Star team
in 1958, 1961 and 1962 and the American League All-Star team in
1969.
After completing his playing career with Washington in
1970, he coached for the Senators in 1971 and for the then-California
Angels from 1972-74. He served as a minor league batting instructor for
the Dodgers in 1977-78, and then briefly returned as a minor league
catching instructor in 1987.
Roseboro and his wife, Barbara Fouch Roseboro, also owned a
Beverly Hills public relations firm.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter,
Morgan.
Plans for a memorial service were
pending. |
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