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'69 Series star Agee dies at 58

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 23, 2001

NEW YORK -- Tommie Agee, the centerfielder who made two of the greatest catches in World Series history to help the New York Mets win their unexpected title in 1969, died Monday of a heart attack. He was 58.

Agee collapsed while walking out of a Manhattan office building and was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m., Bellevue Hospital spokeswoman Lorinda Klein said.

"It's a shock to all of us," former Mets teammate Ed Kranepool said. "Tommie and I maintained a close friendship since our playing days. He was a conscientious person who did so much for the kids of the city."

Said team chairman Nelson Doubleday: "Tommie Agee was indeed one of the all-time great Mets. His spirit and soul will be sorely missed by all."

In recent years, Agee had worked for Stewart Title Insurance Co. in New York. He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and daughter Janelle.

Agee spent 12 seasons in the major leagues with Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox, the Mets, Houston and St. Louis, retiring in 1973 with a .255 career average, 130 home runs and 433 RBI.

He led the Mets in home runs (26) and RBI (76) in 1969 but is best remembered for his performance in Game 3 of the World Series.

He homered off Jim Palmer leading off the bottom of the first inning and made two catches that probably saved five runs.

First, he dashed into left-center in the fourth inning and stuck out his glove, catching the ball backhanded in the webbing to rob Elrod Hendricks with runners at the corners and two outs. That preserved a 3-0 New York lead.

In the seventh, he made a sliding catch in right-center to rob Paul Blair with two outs and the bases loaded.

The "Miracle Mets" won 5-0 and eventually beat heavily favored Baltimore 4-1 to become the first expansion team to win a World Series.

Tommie Lee Agee was born on Aug. 9, 1942, in Mobile, Ala. He made it to the major leagues with Cleveland in 1962. He was New York's opening-day centerfielder for five straight seasons, then was traded to Houston on Nov. 27, 1972.

RAYS: The Florida Power Rays FanFest 2001 will be Feb. 10-11 at Tropicana Field.

Fans can meet players and coaches, tour the clubhouse, partake of an interactive fantasy camp and participate in several other activities for both adults and children.

Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free.

CARDINALS: Jim Edmonds, who finished fourth in National League MVP voting with 42 homers, 108 RBI and a .295 batting average, was honored Monday as the St. Louis baseball man of the year along with wild-armed Rick Ankiel, selected the Cardinals rookie of the year.

INDIANS: Terrell Lowery, who spent the majority of last season at San Francisco's Triple-A affiliate, agreed Monday to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. He batted .441 with one homer and five RBI in 24 games with the Giants last year.

PIRATES: Brian Giles, the first Pittsburgh player to bat .300, hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in consecutive seasons, has repeated as the Roberto Clemente Award winner.

WHITE SOX: Wally Backman, who spent nine of his 14 seasons in the major leagues with the New York Mets, was hired Monday as manager of Chicago's Single-A team in Winston-Salem.

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