Looks like a nice guy.
Posted on 12/22/2005 1:25:31 PM PST by MikefromOhio
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Elrod Hendricks, who spent nearly four decades as a player and coach with the Baltimore Orioles, died Wednesday. He was 64.
Hendricks died at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, hospital spokeswoman Allison Eatough said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Acting Lt. Will Bethea of the Anne Arundel County fire department said the department received a call at 8:17 p.m. that Hendricks was unconscious at a hotel near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. A fire department ambulance took him to the hospital.
Hendricks got most of the playing time at catcher for the Orioles on teams that went to three consecutive World Series from 1969-71, sharing duties with Andy Etchebarren.
Hendricks also played briefly for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees during a 12-year major league career that lasted from 1968-79. He went 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run and four RBIs to help Baltimore defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Nice guy. Helped me a lot.
Prayers for the family.
Wasn't he involved with the throw to first that hit J.C. Martin of the Mets in the 1969 Series? The throw hit Martin in the wrist, and I believe there was some controversy over whether Martin was out of the basepath.
I thought that was Etchebarren but you could very well be correct.....
Kind'a like a Baltimore Ellie Howard.
Yeah, he came to speak at our Little League Banquet in the 70s. I think I have an autographed picture of him somewhere.
yeah.
From the baseball library web site: JC Martin triggered one of the most controversial plays in post-season history. He bunted to Baltimore pitcher Pete Richert, whose throw to first struck Martin on the wrist and ricocheted into short right, allowing pinch runner Rod Gaspar to score the winning run from second. Orioles manager Earl Weaver, who had been ejected earlier, saw the play and protested after the game that Martin had run illegally inside the foul line. Umpire Shag Crawford thought otherwise.
Weaver eventually got tossed from the game...the first manager to be thrown out of a WS game since 1935.
Bullpen coach until this year. A really nice guy.
Wow, Hendricks gave me my very first autograph when I was a kid. I'll never forget that. Rest in peace.
This is very sad for me. I loved that guy. But, on the field he was no Elston Howard.
He wore a MLB uniform for 38 years. Is that a record?
I know for sure he holds the record for most autographs.
He did catch that game, but reliever Pete Richert made the play on the bunt (at least according to this write-up. The first series I have any memories of was O's/Pirates in '71.)
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1969ws.shtml
He was involved in a controversial play at the plate in the 1970 series.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1970ws.shtml
yep.
He had a stroke earlier this year and was temporarily removed from the post, but the guy was always popular with the fans and players there....
yeah I have a couple of his as well, but my first autograph is actually Graig Nettles.
My dad got it in 1984 when Nettles was playing for San Diego....
there you go.
I barely remember the 83 WS (I was 3 at the time) but my Dad had already taken a liking to Cal Ripken and it really rubbed off on me....
At first he wasn't good behind the plate... but he learned it well.
RIP
Looks like a nice guy.
He was.
He was great with kids and teens (I was a teen at the time). He had stories, most of them funny and the man could teach you mechanics like you wouldn't believe.....
Hmmm. Not sure about total years in MLB uniform but Jimmie Reese (real name Hyam Soloman)played second for Oakland in the Pacific Coast League in 1924, moved up to the Yankees in 1930, played only a few years in MLB, went back to PCL, joined Angels as coach in 1971 and was still coach when he died in 1994 at age 93.
Nolan Ryan named one of his sons Reese, in honor.
Prayers for Hendricks and his family. I lived in Baltimore in 1979 (he had one at bat that year) and it was a great year. Hendricks was held in high regard.
Thanks.
Yes,IIRC in that 1970 game, the umpire was actually facing AWAY from the play, sitting on the ground, but still called the runner out.
Ellie Hendricks was indeed a good guy. Always upbeat, one of those role players you think of warmly. Two of the real nice guys of the great Orioles teams of the 70s have died over the past few months, the other being Pat Kelly. So sad to see the ones you remember playing passing on. Mark Belanger from those teams died many years ago, way too young.
yeah. especially this time of year too.
As I recall, the O's traded him to NY in the Tippy Martinez/Scott McGregor/Rick Dempsey deal. Good deal for the O's.
Sad that Ellie, a fine organization man who lived for the sport, had to leave with the team he loves in such disarray.
Cal caught the final out that year.
I live in Rochester, which was home to the O's AAA affiliate for 40+ years until the Angelos Administration drove us to Minnesota. I recall leaving school early on Opening Day 1982 to attend the Rochester Red Wings home opener with my Dad. Ripken (playing 3rd at that time) hit a homer that day ... I hope to attend Cal's Hall of Fame induction with Dad next year (is that right?).
his election should occur next year yes.....
I am thinking I might do that as well.
I remember that actually :)
Belanger died? How'd I miss that?
That guy used to hit .190 but his glove kept him in the lineup -- "The Blade".
This was before the era of the good hitting shortstop (Ripken, Jeter, ARod, Nomar, Tejada, etc.).
See ya at the Otesaga!
Due to an unavoidable schedule conflict, I missed Eddie Murray's induction a couple summers ago. But I am NOT going to miss this!
yeah....
I wasn't going to make Eddie's anyway....
but I don't really follow the orioles or even really baseball outside of my fantasy teams. None of the players today really excite me.
LOL
close enough :)
I will follow them again when Angelos either sells the team or croaks.....
I was hoping the emergence of the DC franchise would prompt Angelos to sell.
You're too young to remember (ask your Dad), but this was once the model franchise for all of baseball.
They built from within, stressed defensive fundamentals and pitching. They didn't always finish first but they were always very good and fun to follow ... "Oriole Magic" was the buzzphrase.
well I used to live just north of Hagerstown, so I was able to watch guys like Craig Worthington and Ben McDonald and Mussina pass through there....
I wish Ripken would buy it from him.
People have speculated that Ripken would be a natural for GM, but there seems to be some bad blood between him and the Angelos clan.
Amazing, here's the most storied player in the history of your franchise and you alienate him.
yep and that's the exact reason I won't follow them.
I don't know exactly. He got to the big leagues, got a big head, and then blew out his arm in Milwaukee
Then the rest of that crap happened.
I fully expect 100 losses next season.
I didn't know about Belanger, either. Along with today's news of Hendricks, I'm nastolgic, sad, and even more than ever angry at Angelos for stealing it all from me. Hendricks was a good man and a great baseball guy.
Lawyers should be banned from baseball. I still hate Edward Bennett Williams, but not nearly as much as Angelos. Williams pissed me off constantly, and rewarded me occasionally -- kinda like a Yankee's fan with Stienbrenner. Angelos has no good qualities.
My baseball fantasy is to dance on Angelos' grave arm-in-arm with Davey Johnson.
Unreal.
Yep.
I grew up listening to John Miller's baritone voice on the Hagerstown affiliate while I had HTS muted on the TV.....
Back in the '70's/early-'80's, I'd listen to the games on WTOP outta Washington. The best was when they were on the west coast and I could lie awake till 1:30 AM listening.
I think he had cancer. I remember them both.
yeah....
late 80s up to 1997 for me....then I moved to Ohio and only caught them on the TV....
I was going to a game during Cal's last year. The game was against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001.
I still have those tickets.
Wow!
John Miller!
I grew up with him. Damn Angelos.
yep.
I had them framed along with the Ripken Rookie cards I have....
I grew up with him. Damn Angelos.
I think the guy I started with was Bill O'Donnell.
Something about baseball on the radio ... It's kinda like background music for your youthful summers!
I think I had a coupla those ... but back then, they were just cards!
The manager of the 1983 O's, Joe Altobelli, is "Mr. Baseball" here in Rochester.
He still does the color on the Red Wings radiocasts and is a joy to listen to.
yeah...
I have all 4 of them, and I had the big one, The Topps Traded rookie card, signed.
What about the Billy Ripken card with the profanity printed on his bat? ;)
I have that one too :)
or I did. It's probably still in my parent's attic somewhere :)
Apparently, blood is not a sure indicator of talent!
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