MLB Players who died in 2009
I like to read the obituaries in the paper. That is how I read about some of the baseball players that have passed away to the Big Ballpark in the sky.
I ran across a list of MLB players that passed away in 2009. I added two columns: Born in and the list of teams they played for. Could not get it all into one line so I created two lists.
The youngest player was Nick Adenhart at the tender age of 22 and the oldest Bill Werber at the golden age of 100.
Isn’t this a cool baseball card of Bill Werber?
| Player | Died In | Born In | Date of Death | Debut Year | Final Year |
| Nick Adenhart | Fullerton, CA | Silver Springs,MD | 4/9/2009 | 2008 | 2009 |
| James Atkins | Hanceville, AL | Birmingham, AL | 2/28/2009 | 1950 | 1952 |
| Del Bates | Spokane, WA | Seattle, WA | 9/24/2009 | 1970 | 1970 |
| Stan Benjamin | Harwich, MA | Framingham, MA | 12/24/2009 | 1939 | 1945 |
| Ed Blake | Swansea, IL | East St. Louis, IL | 4/15/2009 | 1951 | 1957 |
| Johnny Blanchard | Robbinsdale, MN | Minneapolis, MN | 3/25/2009 | 1955 | 1965 |
| Buddy Blattner | Chesterfield, MO | St. Louis, MO | 9/4/2009 | 1942 | 1949 |
| Nino Bongiovanni | San Jose, CA | New Orleans, LA | 1/6/2009 | 1938 | 1939 |
| Earle Brucker | El Cajon, CA | Los Angeles, CA | 3/28/2009 | 1948 | 1948 |
| Ron Cash | Tampa, FL | Atlanta, GA | 4/22/2009 | 1973 | 1974 |
| Jackie Collum | Grinnell, IA | Victor, IA | 8/29/2009 | 1951 | 1962 |
| Gene Corbett | Salisbury, MD | Winona, MN | 1/28/2009 | 1936 | 1938 |
| Frank Dasso | Seattle, WA | Chicago, IL | 6/8/2009 | 1945 | 1946 |
| Mike Derrick | Lexington, SC | Columbia, SC | 1/14/2009 | 1970 | 1970 |
| Dom DiMaggio | Marion, MA | San Francisco, CA | 5/8/2009 | 1940 | 1953 |
| Bob Dillinger | Santa Clarita, CA | Glendale, CA | 11/7/2009 | 1946 | 1951 |
| Alec Distaso | Macomb, IL | Los Angeles, CA | 7/13/2009 | 1969 | 1969 |
| Cal Ermer | Chattanooga, TN | Baltimore, MD | 8/8/2009 | 1947 | 1947 |
| Mark Fidrych | Northborough, MA | Worcester, MA | 4/13/2009 | 1976 | 1980 |
| Ben Flowers | Wilson, NC | Wilson, NC | 2/18/2009 | 1951 | 1956 |
| Herman Franks | Salt Lake City, UT | Price, UT | 3/30/2009 | 1939 | 1949 |
| Lonny Frey | Coeur d’ Alene, ID | St. Louis, MO | 9/13/2009 | 1933 | 1948 |
| Gabe Gabler | Overland Park, KS | Kansas City, MO | 2/7/2009 | 1959 | 1961 |
| Purnal Goldy | Denver, CO | Camden, NJ | 9/21/2009 | 1962 | 1963 |
| Preston Gomez | Fullerton, CA | CUBA | 1/13/2009 | 1944 | 1944 |
| Ray Hamrick | Nashville, TN | Nashville, TN | 6/9/2009 | 1943 | 1944 |
| Gene Handley | Tucson, AZ | Kennett, MO | 4/12/2009 | 1946 | 1947 |
| Woodie Held | Dubois, WY | Sacramento, CA | 6/11/2009 | 1954 | 1969 |
| Tommy Henrich | Dayton, OH | Massillon, Oh | 12/1/2009 | 1937 | 1950 |
| Ramon Hernandez | PUERTO RICO | PUERTO RICO. | 2/4/2009 | 1967 | 1977 |
| Jessie Hollins | Trinity River, TX | Conroe, TX | 7/9/2009 | 1992 | 1992 |
| Larry Jansen | Verboort, OR | Verboort, OR | 10/10/2009 | 1947 | 1956 |
| Roy Johnson | Campeche, Mexico | Parkin, AR | 1/26/2009 | 1982 | 1985 |
| George Kell | Swifton, AR | Swifton, AR | 3/24/2009 | 1943 | 1957 |
| Bill Kelso | North Kansas City, MO | Kansas City, MO | 5/11/2009 | 1964 | 1968 |
| Jim Kirby | Nashville, TN | Nashville, TN | 7/17/2009 | 1949 | 1949 |
| Bill Kirk | Lititz, PA | Coatesville, PA | 10/26/2009 | 1961 | 1961 |
| Jay Kleven | San Lorenzo, CA | Oakland, CA | 6/30/2009 | 1976 | 1976 |
| Ron Klimkowski | Plainview, NY | Jersey City, NJ | 11/13/2009 | 1969 | 1972 |
| Barry Lersch | Aurora, CO | Denver, CO | 10/4/2009 | 1969 | 1974 |
| Bill Lillard | San Luis Obispo, CA | Goleta, CA | 6/9/2009 | 1939 | 1940 |
| Jack Littrell | Louisville, KY | Louisville, KY | 6/9/2009 | 1952 | 1957 |
| Whitey Lockman | Phoenix, AZ | Lowell, NC | 3/17/2009 | 1945 | 1960 |
| Jack Lohrke | San Jose, CA | Los Angeles, CA | 4/29/2009 | 1947 | 1953 |
| Eddie Lyons | Winston-Salem, NC | Winston-Salem,NC | 1/25/2009 | 1947 | 1947 |
| Ron Moeller | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati,OH | 11/2/2009 | 1956 | 1963 |
| Danny Morejon | Miami, FL | Habana, CUBA | 4/27/2009 | 1958 | 1958 |
| Joe Pactwa | Hutchins, TX | Hammond, IN | 3/10/2009 | 1975 | 1975 |
| Gene Patton | Lancaster, PA | Coatesville, PA | 6/25/2009 | 1944 | 1944 |
| Len Perme | Hayward, CA | Cleveland, OH | 1/24/2009 | 1942 | 1946 |
| Jack Phillips | Chelsea, MI | Clarence, NY | 8/30/2009 | 1947 | 1957 |
| Brian Powell | Tallahassee, FL | Bainbridge,GA | 10/5/2009 | 1998 | 2004 |
| Luis Quintana | Lake Park, FL | PUERTO RICO. | 7/27/2009 | 1974 | 1975 |
| Herman Reich | Fallbrook, CA | Bell, CA | 10/22/2009 | 1949 | 1949 |
| Tommy Reis | Ocala, FL | Newport, KY | 11/6/2009 | 1938 | 1938 |
| Dusty Rhodes | Las Vegas, NV | Mathews, AL | 6/17/2009 | 1952 | 1959 |
| Dave Roberts | Short Gap, WV | Gallipolis, OH | 1/9/2009 | 1969 | 1981 |
| Humberto Robinson | Brooklyn, NY | Colon, PANAMA | 9/29/2009 | 1955 | 1960 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | PUERTO RICO | PUERTO RICO. | 3/6/2009 | 1973 | 1979 |
| Freddy Rodriguez | Miami, FL | Havana, CUBA | 6/11/2009 | 1958 | 1959 |
| Bob Roselli | Rocklin, CA | San Francisco, CA | 11/5/2009 | 1955 | 1962 |
| Johnny Schaive | Springfield, IL | Springfield, IL | 5/11/2009 | 1958 | 1963 |
| Bob Scherbarth | Presque Isle, WI | Milwaukee, WI | 1/31/2009 | 1950 | 1950 |
| Howie Schultz | Chaska, MN | St Paul, MN | 10/30/2009 | 1943 | 1948 |
| Craig Stimac | San Marino, Italy | Oak Park,IL | 1/16/2009 | 1980 | 1981 |
| Tom Sturdivant | Oklahoma City, OK | Gordon, KS | 2/28/2009 | 1955 | 1964 |
| Joe Tepsic | Bald Eagle, PA | Slovan, PA | 2/23/2009 | 1946 | 1946 |
| Don Thompson | Asheville, NC | Swepsonville, NC | 9/28/2009 | 1949 | 1954 |
| Ted Uhlaender | Atwood, KS | Chicago Heights, IL | 2/12/2009 | 1965 | 1972 |
| Elmer Weingartner | Elyria, OH | Cleveland, OH | 3/15/2009 | 1945 | 1945 |
| Bill Werber | Charlotte, NC | Berwyn, MD | 1/22/2009 | 1930 | 1942 |
| Carl Willey | Ellsworth, ME | Cherryfield, ME | 7/21/2009 | 1958 | 1965 |
| Davey Williams | Farmer’s Branch, TX | Dallas, TX | 8/17/2009 | 1949 | 1955 |
| Frank Williams | Vancouver Is. CN | Seattle, WA | 1/9/2009 | 1984 | 1989 |
| George Williams | Detroit, MI | Detroit, MI | 5/14/2009 | 1961 | 1964 |
| Ed Wolfe | Modesto, CA | Los Angeles, CA | 3/8/2009 | 1952 | 1952 |
| Hal Woodeshick | Houston, TX | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 6/14/2009 | 1956 | 1967 |
| Player | Played for |
| Nick Adenhart | Angels |
| James Atkins | Red Sox |
| Del Bates | Phillies |
| Stan Benjamin | Indians, Phillies |
| Ed Blake | Reds. Redlegs, KC Athletics |
| Johnny Blanchard | Yankees, KC Athletics, Braves |
| Buddy Blattner | Cardinals, Giants, Phillies |
| Nino Bongiovanni | Reds |
| Earle Brucker | Philadelphia Athletics |
| Ron Cash | Tigers |
| Jackie Collum | Cardinals, Redlegs, Cubs, Dodgers, Twins,Indians |
| Gene Corbett | Phillies |
| Frank Dasso | Reds |
| Mike Derrick | Red Sox |
| Dom DiMaggio | Red Sox |
| Bob Dillinger | Browns, PA Athletics, Pirates, White Sox |
| Alec Distaso | Cubs |
| Cal Ermer | Senators |
| Mark Fidrych | Tigers |
| Ben Flowers | Red Sox, Tigers, Cardinals, Phillies |
| Herman Franks | Cardinals, Dodgers, PA Athletics, Giants |
| Lonny Frey | Brooklyn Dodgers, Cubs, Red, Yankees, Giants |
| Gabe Gabler | Yankees, Senators |
| Purnal Goldy | Tigers |
| Preston Gomez | Senators |
| Ray Hamrick | Phillies |
| Gene Handley | PA Athletics |
| Woodie Held | Yankees, Atletics, Indians, Senators, Orioles, Angels, WhiteSox |
| Tommy Henrich | Yankees |
| Ramon Hernandez | Braves, Cubs, Pirates, Red Sox. |
| Jessie Hollins | Cubs |
| Larry Jansen | Giants, Redlegs |
| Roy Johnson | Expos |
| George Kell | PA Athletics, Tigers, Red Sox, White Sox, Orioles |
| Bill Kelso | Angels, Reds |
| Jim Kirby | Cubs |
| Bill Kirk | KC Athletics |
| Jay Kleven | Mets |
| Ron Klimkowski | Yankees, Oakland Athletics |
| Barry Lersch | Phillies, Cardinals |
| Bill Lillard | PA Athletics, |
| Jack Littrell | PA & KC Athletics, Cubs |
| Whitey Lockman | Giants, Cardinals, Orioles, Reds |
| Jack Lohrke | Giants, Phillies |
| Eddie Lyons | Senators |
| Ron Moeller | Orioles, Angels, Senators |
| Danny Morejon | Redlegs |
| Joe Pactwa | Angels |
| Gene Patton | Boston Braves, |
| Len Perme | White Sox |
| Jack Phillips | Pirates |
| Brian Powell | tigers, Astros, Giants, Phillies |
| Luis Quintana | Angels |
| Herman Reich | Senators, Indians, Cubs |
| Tommy Reis | Phillies, Boston Bees |
| Dusty Rhodes | Giants |
| Dave Roberts | Padres, Astros, Tigers, Cubs, Giants, Pirates, Mariners, Mets |
| Humberto Robinson | Milwaukee Braves, Indians, Phillies |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | Brewers, Royals |
| Freddy Rodriguez | cubs, Phillies |
| Bob Roselli | Milwaukee Braves, White Sox |
| Johnny Schaive | Senators |
| Bob Scherbarth | Red Sox |
| Howie Schultz | Brooklyn Dodgers, Phillies, Reds |
| Craig Stimac | Padres, |
| Tom Sturdivant | Yankees, KC Athletics, Red Sox, Senators, Pirates, Tigers, Mets |
| Joe Tepsic | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Don Thompson | Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Ted Uhlaender | Twins, Indians, Reds |
| Elmer Weingartner | Indians |
| Bill Werber | Yankees, Red Sox, PA Athletics, Reds, Giants |
| Carl Willey | Milwaukee Braves, Mets |
| Davey Williams | NY Giants |
| Frank Williams | Giants, Reds, Tigers |
| George Williams | Phillies, Colts .45s, KC Athletics |
| Ed Wolfe | Pirates |
| Hal Woodeshick | Tigers, Indians, Senators, Colts .45s, Astros, Cardinals |
Four of these players played for the Brooklyn Dodgers: John Tepsic, Loney Frey, Don Thompson and Howie Shultz. Preston Gomez played for the Senators but he was the third-base coach for the Dodgers in 1965 when the Dodgers won the World Series. He passed away last year January 13th due to a car accident.
77 MLB players passed away in 2009. Rest in peace gentlemen.
ref: baseball-almanac
crzblue
Emma, this reminds me of the Academy Awards when they do a montage of all the Hollywood biggies who died that calendar year. I’m sure they’ll do the same sort of thing on Sunday night at the Golden Globes. But any time a baseball player dies, I always picture them in heaven sitting around talking to other players and remembering old times.
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
George Kell actually was a St Louis senior instructor for a long time down here in the St. Petersburg, Florida area.
He was always a fixture at High Scholl games and at pratices trying to teach fundementals and better skills at the plate to the talented players surrounding the region.
His death from an auto accident that he was not even driving is so unexpected and tragic.
He was a constant advisor in the Srping for Tony LaRussa, and will be sorely miseed by all in the Cardinals administration and the local St. Pete residents that saw here year after year locally when the Cardinal has their Spring Training camps in the city.
Go Bless you George!
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
Emma,
I see you took this list straight out of the baseball almanac site. This is interesting, I hope those players have a happy afterlife.
Matthew Tang
http://matt7.mlblogs.com/
Jane,
I love watching that tribute of all the Hollywood stars that died during the prior year. And yes, I picture all those players in heaven sharing stories.
.
Oh Cliff, that is sad how George Kell died. Rest his soul. Thank you for sharing this.
.
Matt,
Yes, I found it from the baseball almanac. I clicked on each player in order to add the column in white. It did not fit all into one line so I created two. Isn’t wonderful the information we find in baseball almanac?
Nice tribute, Emma. R.I.P., fellas. I guess none of them will feel as real as the Adenheart death (at least, to me anyway) but they’re all worthy of mention. There’s no doubt about that. Thanks!
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
http://mtrredstatebluestate.com
Jeff,
yeah Adenheart was so close to home and the youngest of them all.
Emma! This was awesome. I spent yesterday afternoon in a cemetary locally, a famous one where so many of the “Fathers of Baseball” rest here in Brooklyn. I was there gathering pics for a couple of posts I’m working on. Great list!
Mike! Thanks! I will look forward to those pictures and your report! I think is great what you are doing from that famous cementary! Can’t wait to see who they are.
I never read the obituaries in fact I don’t even know where they are! That does make me sad so I guess i’m better off not knowing. This reminds me of a movie starring Tony Shalube where his 6 yr old son had a habit of reading the obituaries everyday while eating breakfast before he went off to school. What a creepy hobby lol! Anyways RIP to all those who played this grand game of baseball. May they be playing their own sandlot game up in heaven
nice post
http://mimi.mlblogs.com
Great records, Emma!
The top line featuring Nick Adenhart was especially impressive to me (I’ve read about him in a Japanese newspaper). At that time I knew nothing about MLBlogs or even about MLB website. But now, what the difference!
http://nao.mlblogs.com/
thanks for the list emma. still hard to believe Adenhart passed away. so young and talented. he would have been a great pitcher.
http://pittpeas.mlblogs.com
Mimi,
I did not used to read them. I think as you get older you start checking that. Yesterday that man that invented Spaghetti-OOS passed away. Tony Shalube? Hmm, don’t thik I’ve seen that movie.
.
Nao,
Good to see you are posting again! I remember the first time I saw your posts. I believe I was the first person that posted in your blog.
.
Matt
Adenhart was the saddest death. He was so young.
Hard to believe in a 100 year old ballplayer. My attachment to the Dodgers despite being in Arkansas and not LA is partially due to my cousin Preacher Roe who played for Brooklyn in the 50′s. He passed away a little over 2 years ago now around the age of 92. He was one of the oldest living baseball players at that time. Not too many of them make it to 90 and up. There are only 33 players over 90 and only 7 living 95 or older. Roe could sure tell some great stories about the Dodgers…
Emma,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, you are the first commenter to my first blog in English. I learned from MLBlogs the importance of the blogger community as an integral part of a blog hosting service. That’s why I am continuing to blog here in a non-native language.
BTW, has anyone read a book entitled “The Heavely World Series”?
Aducker,
Maybe you could share with us some stories told first hand from your cousin! That would be awesome! The Dodgers have the oldest living MLB player at 100 years in Tony Malonosky. I had the honor of watching him throw out the first pitch at a game at Dodger Stadium last year.
.
Nao,
You are so welcome. Is a wonderful way of communicating with so many baseball fans that share the same love for the game. Thank you for being part of the MLB community.
.
I have not read or heard of the book but I’ll add it to my list so I can check it out!
Emma,
Thanks for your very prompt response. I’m sorry I mistyped the book title. It’s “The Heavenly World Series”.
Nao,
Now that I looked it up, I want to find this book. I could order it, but I am going to stop at the Downtown L.A. library and check if they have it. Actually I should do that online.
thanks!
Hey Emma-
Nice blog!!! I’m amazed at how many big league ballplayers- former and current- died this year.
http://adriangonzalez23.mlblogs.com
I forgot libraries are closed today because of Martin Luther King. I am glad that I did not get off the train and start walking that way. I did that once forgetting the library closes early on Fridays.
.
AG,
77 seemed to a high number with Adenhart being the saddest one. he was so young, his whole life cut short.
Thanks Emma!
It was just easy to link my name to my blog URL. I should have done this earlier.
http://nao.mlblogs.com/
I’ve tried writing about Roe on my blog but I haven’t come up with anything good yet. I’ll try to start a series about it this season maybe after I speak to my father who has written down some of the stories in a diary where he records stuff about his father and other family related stories.
Oh Aducker! That would be wonderful! I can’t wait to hear those stories!