RIP Jerry Coleman

[mpcincal]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/05/jerry-coleman-died-padres/

Former Yankee, 1949 Rookie of the Year and 1950 World Series MVP, World War II bomber pilot, and of course longtime Padres broadcaster (and one-year Padres manager).

Spent a lot of time listening to him during my years in San Diego, and, I'll be the first to say, not the best announcer (known more for his on-air statements that didn't come out quite right), but from everyone I ever heard talk or write about him, he was a first-class human being.

A day that was shaping up to be one of the best in San Diego sports history (with the Chargers, and then the Aztecs beating Kansas in basketball), this makes it a bit less celebratory.

 

[YankeeFan]

"There's a fly ball, deep to right field! Winfield is going back, back, back, he hits his head against the wall! It's rolling away!"

 

[HanSenSE]

RIP
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quocole.shtml

 

[mpcincal]

"There's a fly ball, deep to right field! Winfield is going back, back, back, he hits his head against the wall! It's rolling away!"

I'm sure there will be a few of those on this thread, YF. My favorite has always been "Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen."

And for balance, a combined 137 missions flown combined between WWII and Korea, and one crash he survived. I salute you, sir!

 

[exmediahack]

Rest in Peace.

My first memory of him... he was the "MGR." on my 1980 San Diego Padres Topps team card.

Ron Burgundy could deliver the eulogy.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Sad news. Great guy who deserves to be remembered for so much more than malapropisms.

 

[Double J]

I didn't know anything at all about his military career. Two Distinguished Flying Crosses? Damn. RIP.

 

[HanSenSE]

Musical tribute from Tim Flannery, ex-Pads and now-Giants coach:

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Nice job by Bill Center:

http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/05/padres-mlb-coleman-remembered/

 

[MileHigh]

RIP.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

"(Dave) Winfield goes back to the wall, he hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to second base. This is a terrible thing for the Padres."

 

[Colton]

Sad news. Great guy who deserves to be remembered for so much more than malapropisms.

Damn... RIP, Mr. Coleman.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Not only did he serve in WWII and Korea, but he stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1964. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

RIP.

 

[poindexter]

I have so much respect for those pilots.

fwiw, since he wasn't a real national figure, on the Padres flagship, he was many times referenced as "Colonel".

 

[buckweaver]

SABR has an extensive oral history interview with Coleman from 1988 that's worth your time:

http://sabr.org/latest/sabr-archives-conversation-jerry-coleman

He talks about his reluctance to be called a "war hero" (he preferred "war survivor"), his struggles coming back to baseball after Korea, some memorable World Series moments with the Yankees, and the tumultuous early years with the Padres.

 

[Colton]

SABR has an extensive oral history interview with Coleman from 1988 that's worth your time:

http://sabr.org/latest/sabr-archives-conversation-jerry-coleman

He talks about his reluctance to be called a "war hero" (he preferred "war survivor"), his struggles coming back to baseball after Korea, some memorable World Series moments with the Yankees, and the tumultuous early years with the Padres.

Great stuff, Buck. Thanks for the link.

 

[Liut]

RIP.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

SABR has an extensive oral history interview with Coleman from 1988 that's worth your time:

http://sabr.org/latest/sabr-archives-conversation-jerry-coleman

He talks about his reluctance to be called a "war hero" (he preferred "war survivor"), his struggles coming back to baseball after Korea, some memorable World Series moments with the Yankees, and the tumultuous early years with the Padres.

That was well worth the half-hour it took me to read. The only thing missing, though, was I would have liked to have seen a question about the one year he was the Padres manager.

 

[WCIBN]

Keith Olbermann did a nice tribute to Jerry Coleman the other night. He uploaded the video to his YouTube page.

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-OHPjIsisI