On an early August day in Cooperstown, McCovey took his place among the greatest in the history of the game. 44 in 1980, his final season. He played 22 seasons in the majors, all but three with the Giants, when he played in San Diego and had an 11-game stint in Oakland. “I couldn’t have impressed anybody.” Fortunately, Pompez had already seen him play, and signed McCovey in spite of his uninspired play at the camp. "He was my best friend and husband. He had attended games at AT&T Park as recently as the final game of the 2018 season. Lee. He playe… Willie McCovey. Willie McCovey was born on 10th of January 1938, in Mobile, Alabama. In late September he was on the field to present this year’s Willie Mac Award to reliever Will Smith. Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants bats during a game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. McCovey, HOFer and Giants legend, dies at 80, Angels' Fowler out for season after tearing ACL, Mets' Stroman upset game started amid rainfall, Tigers place Cabrera on IL with biceps strain, Padres LHP Morejon leaves start with injury, Phillies reliever Bradley on IL with oblique injury, Voting law jeered near Masters; gov. But I could hit the ball hard.”. Jesse Thomas was the director. He was 80. The Giants sadly announced on Wednesday that Giants Hall of Fame first baseman Willie McCovey has died at the age of 80 after a battle with ongoing health issues. Willie Lee McCovey. Giants' first baseman Willie McCovey is welcomed by teammates at San Francisco dugout after he drove the ball high over the right field fence in seventh inning, Oct. 5, 1962 in San Francisco and put Giants ahead, 2-0, in second game of World Series in Candlestick Park. The great unanswerable question about McCovey’s career: How much better would it have been had he not endured so many injuries and so much pain, particularly in his arthritic knees? MLB Power Rankings: Who are the biggest risers and fallers in the first week of the season? The statue of former San Francisco Giants great and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey #44 with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background during the game between the Philadelphia Philles and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on April 26, 2010 in San Francisco. After yet another knee surgery, McCovey said in 2005, “Lord, I’ve even lost count how many. Click the award name and up comes a comprehensive history of that award along with every winner of that particular baseball award. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed “Stretch” for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. McCovey hit a foul ball on the first pitch. McCovey died Wednesday, and Mays and Bonds shared their feelings on … A former first baseman and left fielder, McCovey was a career .270 hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs in … A few of the most notable: •1969 National League Most Valuable Player; •1977 National League Comeback Player of the Year; •18 grand slams, most in National League history; The Giants honored McCovey in many ways. His teammates mobbed McCovey, and the fans had him return from the clubhouse for a curtain call. He hit .354 with 13 homers and had a 22-game hitting streak. “I’d like to be remembered as the guy who hit the ball over Bobby Richardson’s head in the seventh game,” McCovey responded. Born Willie Lee McCovey, he attended Central High School in Mobile, Alabama and started in the farm system of the San Francisco Giants before joining the team in 1959. He was one of the most awesome players I’ve ever seen.”, One of Torre’s St. Louis teammates, pitcher Bob Gibson, said, “McCovey swung harder than anyone I ever saw. The San Francisco Giants announced McCovey's death, saying the fearsome hitter passed "peacefully" on Wednesday afternoon "after losing his battle with ongoing health issues." “Willie was raised by the village by all of the family and the whole.” McCoy's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for wrongful death against the city of Vallejo. blasts MLB, Locastro now 28/28 on stolen bases, setting mark, Red-hot J.D. McCovey erupted again in 1965, hitting 39 home runs, and settled into a pattern of consistent, powerful hitting. His arm is around his mother Esther's shoulder. Boost Birthday January Jan 10, 1938. The next pitch, Stevens wrote, “was over the heart of the plate, belt high, and did Willie ever belt it. The Giants said a public celebration of McCovey's life would be held at a later date. I was more relieved than anything else.”. "I still think about it all the time," he said in 2014. Willie McCovey. “You could talk all day about balls he hit.”. McCovey might have gotten misty-eyed a few times in 1986. Willie McCovey, American professional baseball player who played 22 years in the major leagues between 1959 and 1980, all but three of which were spent with the San Francisco Giants. Perhaps believing that the injuries and operations had taken too big of a toll on McCovey, the Giants traded him, along with outfielder Bernie Williams, to San Diego for pitcher Mike Caldwell after the 1973 season. “Upper deck or lower deck?”. Willie McCovey biography, ethnicity, religion, interesting facts, favorites, family, updates, childhood facts, information and more: What is Willie McCovey's middle name? Then in 2003, the Giants unveiled a monument to McCovey at China Basin Park, on the other side of the cove. For 22 years on the field and many more after retiring, Willie was a superb ambassador for the Giants and our game.". Each man knew how much the other meant to him. How old is Willie McCovey? He was 80. As The Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins wrote, “McCovey was called back by a deafening ovation, and he was clearly moved. "San Francisco and the entire baseball community lost a true gentleman and legend, and our collective hearts are broken," Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. from Watsonville waits near the Willie Mays statue as the line to get into the rally snaked around the statue and toward McCovey Cove.. SF CHRONICLE PHOTO BY SCOTT SOMMERDORF, Willie McCovey in the locker room 1965, Photo ran 5/19/1965, p. 54 Handout, Willie McCovey with a couple fans after the game, April 3, 1972 Photo ran 04/04/1972, p. 45. “I’m a pretty calm person,” he said after the ceremony, “and I thought I could get through the afternoon without getting too emotional — but it hit me when I got up on the stage.”, Steve Kroner and John Shea are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. "For more than six decades, he gave his heart and soul to the Giants -- as one of the greatest players of all time, as a quiet leader in the clubhouse, as a mentor to the Giants who followed in his footsteps, as an inspiration to our Junior Giants, and as a fan cheering on the team from his booth.". SAN FRANCISCO — Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed "Stretch" for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. San Francisco Giants legend Willie McCovey cracked more than 500 home runs in his Hall of Fame career. The statue depicts him at the finish of one of his mighty swings, his gaze skyward, watching another baseball soar majestically over a right-field wall. McCovey went to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, his team down 1-0, with runners on second and third base. First baseman Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants sitting on the front end of his car, poses for this photo circa mid 1970s during spring training in Phoenix, Arizona. Nicknamed "Stretch" because of his 6-foot-4 frame, McCovey teamed with Willie Mays to create a formidable 1-2 punch in the Giants' lineup for the 13 seasons the two played together. He won the Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year award his first season back with the Giants in 1977. Before working at The Chronicle, he spent 16 years as a sports producer/reporter for KPIX TV. He was not only a teammate but a brother.”. The brother of embattled Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli called on him to resign his elected position Sunday because of the allegations of sexual assault detailed in reports in The Chronicle. Several people recalled an instance in … He died on October 31, 2018 in Stanford, California, USA. His death … It’s at least a dozen on each knee.”. Willie McCovey - Rubenstein - 2008 All Star Game Red Carpet Parade.jpg 2,048 × 3,072; 2.59 MB Willie McCovey 1961.jpg 367 × 461; 43 KB Willie McCovey 2012 (cropped).jpg 610 × 718; 409 KB Though he played in only 52 games, McCovey was the unanimous choice of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as the NL Rookie of the Year. McCovey teamed with Willie Mays to give the Giants one of the most feared duos in baseball history, but he played in only one World Series. That year, he led the league in home runs (45), RBIs (126) and on-base percentage (.453). His death … “My friends and I played sports in the streets or empty fields. Bonds remembered McCovey in a series of emotional tweets late Wednesday night, writing in part, "I am crying over losing you even when you told me not to. In January he was elected to the Hall of Fame, becoming the 16th player to receive that honor in his first year of eligibility. He was married to Estela Bejar and Karen M Billingsley. He was a six-time All-Star who finished his career with a .270 batting average, 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs. First baseman Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants standing at the batting cage waiting his turn to hit circa mid 1970s in spring training in Phoenix, Arizona. Find the obituary of Willie McCovey (1938 - 2018) from Warren, MI. San Francisco Giants center fielder Marvin Benard, left, is given the Willie Mac Award by former Giants great Willie McCovey, right, before the Giants game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 3Com Park in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 1999. His star sign was Capricorn. His remarkable rookie season led to him being named National League Rookie of the Year that year. Here he is at home on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 in Woodside, Calif. SF Giants catcher Tom Haller greets Willie McCovey after McCovey hits a solo home run off Yankees starter Ralph Terry in the bottom of the seventh inning during game two of the 1962 World Series on Oct. 5, 1962. As the thinking went, if the left-handed McCovey had played in that ballpark, he would have deposited dozens of balls into the water beyond the right-field fence. McCovey had, in effect, three farewell games. McCovey had spent the past 18 years in a senior advisory role for the Giants. Nine months later, the Giants lost a member of their 500-home run club, and shortly after McCovey died, team president and CEO Larry Baer spoke to Mays. “With sound effects, he made it seem real. In front of 50,229 fans at Candlestick Park, McCovey came to the plate as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. We played softball in a large local playground. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed ''Stretch'' for his 6' 4" height and those long arms, died Wednesday. (AP Photo/RHH). Baseball Hall of Fame Giant Willie McCovey is seen in his Woodside, Calif., home on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed “Stretch” for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. "Every moment he will be terribly missed," said McCovey's wife, Estella, whom he married this past summer. The San Francisco Giants announced earlier today that their Hall of Fame first-baseman and home-run slugger, Willie McCovey, has passed away at the age of 80. Scott Strazzante / … “I’m just 35,” he said, “and I can still play three or four more years on the field. The award, named after McCovey, is voted by Giants players, coaches and training staff for the most inspirational player on this year's Giants team. 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