Boston Red Sox great Jimmy Piersall dead at 87 years old
Jim Piersall, a Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame member, died on Saturday at the age of 87.
On Sunday morning, the Boston Red Sox announced the passing of former centerfielder Jimmy Piersall. In a statement on their website, the team announced that the 87-year old had passed in Wheaton, IL after battling an illness in a private care facility.
“Jimmy Piersall, a former outfielder and member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, passed away yesterday at 87 years old at a care facility in Wheaton, IL, after a months-long illness.Piersall spent eight of his 17 major league seasons with the Red Sox (1950, ’52-58). The two-time Gold Glove Award winner (1958, ’61) appeared in 931 games for Boston, primarily as a center fielder alongside fellow Red Sox Hall of Famers Jackie Jensen and Ted Williams. He was named an All-Star in 1954 and 1956, and in 1956 he also earned the Thomas A. Yawkey Award as the Red Sox’ Most Valuable Player after leading the majors in doubles (40) and playing in each of Boston’s 155 games.Elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010, Piersall still holds the club record for most hits in a nine-inning game, as he went 6-for-6 in the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns on June 10, 1953. He led Boston outright in stolen bases three times (1953, ’57-58), in runs scored twice (1953, ’57), and in triples once (1953).”
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Piersall is not just remembered as a great Boston Red Sox player, but as a great broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox, as well. From 1977 to 1981, Piersall teamed with Harry Caray to provide play-by-play and color commentary for both television and radio broadcasts of White Sox games.
The personalities of both men gelled immediately, and the duo quickly became fan-favorites. Piersall famously interviewed Bill Gleason during Steve Dahl’s “Disco Demolition” promotion in 1979, during which fans of the shock jock Dahl rushed the field of Comiskey Park and disrupted a scheduled doubleheader.
Piersall was fired after repeated, pointed critiques of White Sox management during the 1981 season, etching his name in White Sox lore.
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Per the Red Sox statement, Jimmy Piersall is survived by nine children and his wife, Jan.