Page 12-Tuesday August 7, 1979-The Michigan Daily
YANKEE CATCHER BURIED IN CANTON:
Munson
CANTON, Ohio (AP) - Baseball star
Thurman Munson, killed last Thursday
in the crash of his private jet, was
eulogized yesterday by teammates as a
great competitor, a man who loved the
New York Yankees and, above all, a
man who loved his family.
Munson, 32, died when his twin-
engine jet crashed and burned short of
a runway at the Akron-Canton Airport
last Thursday. Two passengers aboard
the plane survived. Munson, a resident
of Canton, was spending a rare day off
during the baseball season at home
with his family.
LOU PINIELLA, a teammate on the
Yankees and perhaps Munson's closest
friend in baseball, read with choked
voice from Ecclesiastes the verse
sometimes known as "there is a
season."
Another Yankee, Bobby Murcer,
spoke of the leadership of Munson,
comparing the Yankees' "leader of the
70s" to Lou Gehrig, "the Yankees'
leader of the 30s," who died of a nerve
disease as his Hall of Fame career was
waning.
"Thurman was a competitor, a great
baseball player. He was rough and
tough, but he was always fair," Murcer
said. "He lived, he led, and he loved.
Most of all, he loved his family."
The Rev. J. Robert Coleman, pastor
of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Canton,
and the man who married Thurman
and his wife Diane almost 11 years ago,
said Munson "died because he loved his
family so much he wanted to be with
them as much as possible. That's why
he took up flying."
THE ENTIRE Yankee team, along
praised for
with wives, was flown in for the funeral.
Piniella looked at his teammates as he
said, "As long as I or any of my team-
mates continue to wear a Yankee
uniform, we will be close to him."
Two of Munson's three children were
at the service. Michael, 4, dressed in a
replica Yankees uniform with his
father's No. 15 on the back, was taken
from the building by a family friend
before the service started.
Several hundred persons, young and
old, stood quietly outside Canton's Civic
leaders hip,
Center as the private funeral went on
inside. They continued to watch quietly
as Munson's casket was carried by
family and friends to a hearse.
Among those attending the service
were baseball Commissioner Bowie
Kuhn, American League President Lee
MacPhail, Cleveland Indians President
Gabe Paul and General Manager Phil
Seghi, former Yankee Manager Bob
Lemon and players from several major
league teams, including Munson's for-
mer Yankee teammates Bobby Bonds
fairness
of the Indians and Mickey Rivers and
Sparky Lyle of the Texas Rangers.
During the service, at the request of
the family, several telegrams of con-
dolence were read. Among them were
notes from heavyweight boxing cham-
pion Muhammed Ali and New York out-
fielder Reggie Jackson, who was
publicly at odds with Munson in past
years ,about the leadership of the
Yankees. Jackson also was at the
funeral.
Hail of Famer Willie
'won't be a
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - One
day after joining baseball's immortals
in the Half of Fame, Willie Maya still
wasn table to describe his feelings.
When he was inducted into the Hall
along with Hack Wilson and Warren
Giles on Sunday, Mays said he would
"pinch myself tomorrow and say, 'Say
hey, I'm in the Hall of Fame'."
When tomorrow came yesterday,
however, Willie wasn't yet caught up in
the honor he had been given.
"WHEN I GET a chance, I'll
recognize it was the most wonderful
day of my life," Mays said at a Monday
news conference. "There have been so
many people around me, I haven't had
time to think. Right now, it's keep
moving; so I haven't realized what a
great thing the Hall of Fame is for me.
Willie Mays
manager
"When I speak about how it feels, I
want it to come from my heart."
Instead, Mays spoke of the state of
the game today, his own career and his
aspirations, which don't include a
return-to the game on a full time basis.
"I CAN'T and don't want to be a
manager," he said. "I don't know if I
can watch and maneuver players
around. I gave my life to baseball, and I
still want to be connected with it. But
it's time to enjoy myself outside the
game."
Mays was asked to give his views on
key issues in baseball today, such as
million-dollar player contracts and
women reporters in locker rooms.
"I say to the players, get all you
can," he said. "I resent when they don't
perform after getting the money. But
the owners have been-making money
all their lives.
"You have to give players credit for
maneuvering them selves into a
position to make money. But they must
be more dedicated to the game. People
pay to seea good game, and they should
see the players perform day in and day
out."
Major League
Standings
MAJOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
LaCoss, Reds roll along, 3-1
By the Associated Press
CINCINNATI-Mike LaCoss pitched
a four-hitter for his 12th victory and
Hector Cruz' first-inning double scored
the winning run as the Cincinnati Reds
beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 last night.
LaCoss (12-4) allowed a run-scoring
single to Bob Horner in the first and
held the Braves to two hits in the last
eight innings as he lowered his ERA to
2.69, second in the National League to
Steve Rogers' 2.66. The Reds are 19-3 in
LaCoss' starts this year.
Giants 7, Dodgers 1
LOS ANGELES-Dennis Littlejohn's
two-run, bases-loaded single
highlighted a three-run fourth inning
and Ed Whitson pitched a seven-hitter
as the San Francisco Giants defeated
the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 last night,
nar ing a f'eame losing streak.
The Giants scod three runs in the
fourth inning off Los Angeles starter
and loser Charlie Hough (2-4). Joe
Strain led off with a double. Two outs
later, Hough walked Mike Ivie and
Terry Whitfield singled home strain.
Johnie LeMaster walked, filling the
bases, and Littlejohn singled to left for
two more runs.
In the fifth, Larry Herndon singled
and scored on a base hit by Jack Clark
to give the Giants a 4-0 lead. The Giants
added an unearned run in the eighth
and scored two more in the ninth with
the aid of two Los Angeles errors.
SCORES-
American League
KansasCity i6,Trntol2
National League
Cineinnati3, Atlanta I
San FranciscoL7,Ls Angeles1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pct.
Baltimore .............. 74 35
Boston ......... 7 41
Miwakee ... 64 48
NewsYork ..................... 59 50
Detroit ........................55 53
Cleveland .............. 5555
Toronto ....................... 33 77
WEST
California .............. 63 49
Texas ................... 50 51
Minnesota .....................s57 51
Kansas City ................55 54
Chicago............. 40 61
Seattle ............. 47 05
Oakland.. . . .......33 70
yesterday's games not included
S.542
.s509
t.s50
.300
.563
.505
.257
GB
10
11;
181,
191
412
4
13"/
16
29!
GB
-
4
8
0%
15%
13
20%
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pet.
Pittshnrgh ......... s3 46 .570
Montreal .........1 45 .575
Chicago. .... 57 49 .53
Philadelphia ..................56 55 .505
St. Lnis.......................53 53 .500
New York ..................... 46 ,60 .434
WEST
Hnnsto6................ 67...6 4 .54
Cincinnati............-.....61 52 .540
San Francisco..............52 59 .468
SanDiego..............50 63 .442
Ls Angeles- - -. . 62 .436
Atlanta-. -...-...45 67 .4 2
yesterday'sgamesnotlinclnded
AP Photo
NEW YORK YANKEE manager Billy Martin is consoled by a former
Yankee, Paul Blair, as the two emerged from funeral services yesterday
in Canton, Ohio for catcher Thurman Munson. A host of baseball dignitaries
attended services for Munson, who died in a twin-engine plane crash there
last Thursday.