 10/17/2004 7:58 PM ET
Ray Boone passes away at 81
Former infielder began his career with Indians
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By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com |
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| Ray Boone led the league with 116 RBIs in 1955, then hit .308 with 25 homers to earn another All-Star selection in '56. (AP)
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Ray Boone, who became better known as the patriarch of the first-ever three-generation family of All-Stars, has passed away following a long illness at the age of 81.
Boone got called up to the big leagues Sept. 3, 1948, after shortstop Lou Boudreau got hurt, and Boone went on to spend the next five seasons with the Indians before they traded the versatile infielder to the Tigers in 1953.
But Boone's place in Major League history might well be remembered more for his contribution to the game beyond his own playing career. Boone became the patriarch of a baseball family that is into its third generation in the game.
"It is rare that you find a father-son team, much less a grandfather-father-son team, in baseball or any other professional sport," Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller once wrote about his Indians teammate. "Ray Boone, Bob Boone, and Bret and Aaron Boone are the first three-generation sports family."
The Boone family lost the man who opened the front door for its involvement in Major League Baseball.
"We are extremely saddened to hear about the passing of Ray Boone," said Bart Swain, team spokesman for the Indians. "He was an important part of our success in the 1950s. ... Our thoughts and prayers go out Aaron Boone and his family."
The elder Boone had watched with joy as his grandsons Aaron, who signed with the Indians in June, and Bret followed his son, Bob, to the Majors. All built careers that were more heralded than his, but Ray Boone left his descendants a strong blueprint for success.
His career started with the late callup to fill in for Boudreau, so Boone was able to taste a championship before he was officially through his rookie season. Not that he played a major role in the World Series the Indians won in '48, because he did not. They had men like Ken Keltner, Joe Gordon, Jim Hegan, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby and Feller to play the star's roles.
"That was a working man's team, a bunch of blue-collar guys," Boone was quoted as saying in sportswriter Russell Schneider's baseball retrospective, "Tales from the Tribe Dugout." "Some [of the veterans] had a lot of mileage on them, but they were all pros. Nobody had an ego, not even the guys who should have."
By all accounts, the '48 Indians were absent egos, and maybe what Boone, despite his minimal contribution of six games and five at-bats that season, saw helped shape his approach to preparing his kin for the bigs.
For a game that inflated egos can destroy, the Boones have been a family of players who have put their egos in mothballs.
"The whole Boone family are good friends of mine," Feller once wrote. "They are a credit to baseball and to the United States of America."
Feller's admiration isn't easily won, so for him to offer an unqualified tribute to a man says a lot about the man and his character.
It is character and a strong work ethic, as much as anything else, that speak to the traits Ray Boone instilled in his progeny. In so many ways, the Boone family was like the '48 team -- absent ego.
They have played the game hard. They have not chased the spotlight the way too many athletes of today seem to.
As Bob Boone once put it: "If you're doing a quality job, you should be almost anonymous."
But in sports, it's hard to shake anonymity. It follows a ballplayer as his success mounts, yet it doesn't have to turn the player into something devoid of character and decency.
Somewhere in his life, Ray Boone learned that lesson well. Maybe it was during his 13 seasons in the Majors or, more than likely, it was instilled him by his father. So Ray Boone might have had little choice but to pass the lesson along to the three men who followed his path the bigs.
"It's going to be a real sad week for our family," Bob Boone said. "But we all have a pretty strong faith and know he's in the best place. We've seen him go through a real tough time the last six months." Justice B. Hill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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