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Harmon Killebrew Dies at Age 74
Baseball Legend Dies From Cancer
Baseball legend Harmon Killebrew passed away on Tuesday morning, after a battle with esophageal cancer. He was 74.
Killebrew said on Friday that he would be ending his battle with cancer, choosing to spend his final days in hospice care, with his wife Nita by his side.
The Hall of Famer passed away in his Arizona home with his wife Nita and their family at his side.
Killebrew spent the majority of his 22-year MLB career playing for the Minnesota Twins (formerly known as the Washington Senators). Currently ranked 11th in the all-time career home run leaders list, Killebrew is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
"No individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and millions of fans across Twins territory than Harmon Killebrew," said Twins president Dave St. Peter.
He added that Killebrew's legacy "will be the class, dignity and humility he demonstrated each and every day as a Hall of Fame-quality husband, father, friend, teammate and man."
Current Twins catcher Joe Mauer said, "He has treated me like one of his own. It's hard to put into words what Harmon has meant to me. He first welcomed me into the Twins family as an 18-year-old kid and has continued to influence my life in many ways. He is someone I will never forget and will always treasure the time we spent together."
Tony Oliva, a former teammate, said, "It's very hard, we knew each other about 50 years. I saw him Saturday and he looked very good, even though he was very sick. He was smiling and making jokes."
Nicknamed "The Killer", the soft-spoken Killebrew helped the Twins reach the World Series for the first time ever in 1965. In addition to being an 11-time All-Star during his playing career, he was also named the American League MVP in 1969.
A feared hitter, Killebrew hit the longest home run in Mets stadium history in 1967. He was well known for being able to hit long and powerful home runs.
"I found out early in life that I could hit a baseball farther than most players and that's what I tried to do," Killebrew once said.
Killebrew's jersey number #3 was retired in 1975. In 1984, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"Harmon Killebrew was a gem. I can never thank him enough for all I learned from him," said Rod Carew, another former teammate. "He was a consummate professional who treated everyone from the brashest of rookies to the groundskeepers to the ushers in the stadium with the utmost of respect. I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for Harmon Killebrew. He was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word."
(Sources: ESPN.com, Associated Press)
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