BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Yankees all-star Bill ‘Moose’ Skowron is dead at 81

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Yankees all-star Bill ‘Moose’ Skowron is dead at 81

The Mickey Mantle-era Yankees have lost another member of their storied fraternity with the passing last night of Bill “Moose” Skowron.

The New York Daily News reports Skowron died last night in Chicago from congestive heart failure after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 81.

Besides having one of the game’s great nicknames, Skowron was a power-hitting first baseman and six-time All-Star.

The 1956 World Series is best known for Don Larsen’s perfect game, but it was Skowron who broke open the Yankees’ Game 7 victory over Brooklyn with a grand slam.

...Said Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner in a statement:

“Moose will always be remembered as being one of the key members of the Yankees’ dynasties in the 50’s and early 60’s. He was a winner in every sense of the word, and someone the Yankees family cared deeply for. Baseball lost one of its finest ambassadors, and on behalf of the entire organization, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Cookie, and his entire family.”

Repoz Posted: April 27, 2012 at 03:49 PM | 28 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: history, obits

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1. phredbird

Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:02 PM (#4117848)

boy, he stunk up the joint in LA in 1963, but then he went 5 for 13 with a homer in the WS for dodgers. RIP, moose.

2. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:12 PM (#4117862)

AFIAC Moose was the Truest of True Yankees. R.I.P. and may all your heavenly homers be over the 296' sign.

3. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:16 PM (#4117870)

"Finally, O Moose, you are with us. You will always be for us that light which we will look to as the sun. The sun has returned to shine on your forehead. We will surround you with roses but the perfume of your virtues will be stronger than roses. Moose, we will fight in your name, teaching ourselves the way."

4. zonk Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:17 PM (#4117875)

Next to Mantle, my dad's favorite growing up...

5. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:18 PM (#4117876)

RIP

6. Mark Armour Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:20 PM (#4117881)

In Jane Leavy's book on Mantle, she describes several attempts by friends at intervening to get the Mick help with his alcoholism, one involving Tony Kubek. Skowron and Blanchard remained perhaps Mantle's closest friends, but also the ones who kept the "interventionists" away from Mantle, generally leading to permanent rifts. I am not sure how the two dealt with Mantle's end-of-life mea culpas, but they sure liked to drink with him.

7. My guest will be Jermaine Allensworth Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:28 PM (#4117891)

One of the best storytellers ever.

8. bachslunch Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:29 PM (#4117896)

boy, he stunk up the joint in LA in 1963, but then he went 5 for 13 with a homer in the WS for dodgers.

Skowron also appeared in an episode of the TV show "Mr. Ed" that year along with Sandy Koufax, John Roseboro, and Willie Davis. Strangely enough, Leo Durocher was presented as being the manager of the team -- and Mr. Ed's phone call to Durocher in the Dodger dugout during a game, offering hitting advice to pass along to Skowron, started the whole episode's premise (Skowron was portrayed as being in a slump, and Mr. Ed's advice paid dividends in a later game). The episode is notable among other things for Mr. Ed coming to the plate during batting practice, bat in mouth, hitting a long ball into the outfield off a pitch by Koufax, running around the bases, and sliding into home.

No, I'm not making this up, and it's every bit as silly as it sounds. Fun to see Skowron and the other players, though.

9. Coot Veal and Cot Deal make $486 every day Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:33 PM (#4117901)

Mr. Ed coming to the plate during batting practice, bat in mouth, hitting a long ball into the outfield off a pitch by Koufax, running around the bases, and sliding into home.

video

RIP, Moose... another one of my expansion Senators gone.

10. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: April 27, 2012 at 04:35 PM (#4117909)

Cross-posting from the Dugout;

On the Red Sox radio broadcast last night Joe Castiglione was talking about what a good guy Skowron was and how he always enjoyed speaking with him when the Red Sox were in Chicago. He wrapped up by saying "he's not feeling well so he's not here" or something similarly innocuous. It sounded like he really liked Skowron though.

Castig was talking about Skowron in a manner reserved for people like Pesky which tells me an awful lot about Moose.

Mr. Ed coming to the plate during batting practice, bat in mouth, hitting a long ball into the outfield off a pitch by Koufax, running around the bases, and sliding into home.

I understand why with 500 channels there is so much crap on TV today. It is astounding to me how much crap was on TV when there were like three channels.

11. The Yankee Clapper Posted: April 27, 2012 at 05:12 PM (#4117949)

129 OPS+ in 9 seasons as a Yankee - a major contributor to some very good teams. I remember him well from the amazing 1961 team. Everyone liked Moose. RIP.

12. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: April 27, 2012 at 05:25 PM (#4117959)

Like all important news, I learned about this from Ron Kittle's Facebook feed.

13. Benji Posted: April 27, 2012 at 05:34 PM (#4117976)

RIP Moose. One of those guys that just looked wrong in any other uniform.

Walter Alston must have felt real disrespected by sitcoms. In "The Munsters" Durocher (pronounced by Lily Derosh-a) was the Dodger manager too. I know Alston didn't brim with charisma, but you'd think the writers would have given the Dodgers a generic manager. Named "Slugger", "Rocky" or even "Moose".

14. Borussia, Du bist so wunderschön! (Mark Edward) Posted: April 27, 2012 at 05:34 PM (#4117977)

Sad. I always liked when he'd make a guest appearance on the Sox radio broadcasts with Farmer & DJ.

15. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: April 27, 2012 at 06:23 PM (#4118018)

Koufax gave up five home runs to humans at Dodger Stadium that year, assuming Joe Torre is a human.

16. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: April 27, 2012 at 06:38 PM (#4118024)

You just don't run into guys named Moose with wives named Cookie anymore, and the world is a poorer place for it.

I also recall an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Durocher was the Dodgers' manager. Maybe Alston was too busy actually managing the real team to do a bunch of silly sitcoms?

17. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: April 27, 2012 at 06:55 PM (#4118034)

The Angels replaced a Cookie with a Moose in 1988.

18. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: April 27, 2012 at 07:09 PM (#4118042)

But they were not, AFAIK, married to each other.

19. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: April 27, 2012 at 08:47 PM (#4118101)

The Yanks' unofficial yearbook from either 1960 or 1961 listed his formal name as "William Joseph Moose Skowron", not "Moose" in quotation marks or (Moose) in parentheses. It was as if his parents had had a premonition.

One time when a college football cheating scandal was in the news, Skowron told a reporter, "Gee, when I was at Purdue, we [football players] always knew what the questions on the tests were going to be", as if it were the most natural thing in the world----which of course it was.

20. winnipegwhip Posted: April 27, 2012 at 10:26 PM (#4118186)

Sad. I always liked when he'd make a guest appearance on the Sox radio broadcasts with Farmer & DJ.

I remember listening to him in the booth the day of Buehrle's perfect game. His appearances were always a treat.

RIP

21. Tulo's Fishy Mullet (mrams) Posted: April 27, 2012 at 11:26 PM (#4118233)

Scully just told me that Skowron has hit 3 Game 7 home runs, tying him with Yogi in that dept.

22. RMc and His Roster of Rubbish Posted: April 28, 2012 at 12:04 AM (#4118262)

Hm.

23. Edmundo got dem ol' Kozma blues again mama

Posted: April 28, 2012 at 08:54 AM (#4118330)

I understand why with 500 channels there is so much crap on TV today. It is astounding to me how much crap was on TV when there were like three channels.

Mr. Ed was not crap to an 11/12 year old! Take that back. It was hilaripus -- Mr. Ed's use of the telephone was second only to Bob Newhart in that comedy generation.

Mr. Ed surfed, too. I couldn't find a video clip.

I worked at a diner during high school. It was with the most sublime diner humor that I was called Mr. Ed. It was thought to be clever to do so. :)

And RIP Mr. Skowron.

24. Ron J Posted: April 28, 2012 at 10:38 AM (#4118381)

Somebody has to tell the Skowron/ Pepitone story.

According to Pepitone's autobiography a friend who was in the mob asked Joe if he wanted Skowron to have an "accident".

If he said yes (he says he said, "No!" but we know denials are only confirmations), they took their own sweet time in getting around to Skowron.

25. just plain joe Posted: April 28, 2012 at 11:23 AM (#4118413)

If he said yes (he says he said, "No!" but we know denials are only confirmations), they took their own sweet time in getting around to Skowron.

I guess the mob isn't as efficient as they would like for you to believe. RIP Moose, another piece of my childhood goes away.

26. Edmundo got dem ol' Kozma blues again mama

Posted: April 28, 2012 at 01:47 PM (#4118514)

Another reason why Durocher was the go-to guy for baseball manager in 60s TV shows was that many of the NY TV & Radio crowd migrated to LA in the 50s and 60s.

27. Ray (RDP)

Posted: April 28, 2012 at 01:55 PM (#4118517)

Saw him interviewed on Francesa's show in recent years and he seemed like a likeable fellow. Always smiling and enjoying life.

Apparently he sold off his WS rings for some $50K or $70K each. A completely reasonable decision - the players of his era didn't make all that much, and after his career he was sitting on memorabilia that was pretty valuable. Said he gave the money to his wife and kids, etc. Apparently one guy saw him wearing a ring and bought it off him same day. Got a certified check and gave it to Moose. Done and done.

IIRC Don Larsen got some crap for selling his stuff, which I never understood. And I'd bet that most of the people criticizing would make a similar decision.

28. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: April 28, 2012 at 02:16 PM (#4118529)

I wanted to see what he looked like and did a Google Image Search. Those baseball cards are not flattering.

1954 - glower
1955, 1956 - same image as 1954
1957 - squint
1958 - wha? [interesting note: this is the only card that calls him "Moose" instead of "Bill"]
1959 - wha?
1960 - duhhhh
1961 - squint
1962 - hung over
1963 - squint
1964 - squint
1965 - scowl
1966 - scowl
1967 - finally happy

As a fellow light-eyed individual I sympathize with someone who cannot be successfully photographed staring into the sun in March in Florida.

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Yankees all-star Bill ‘Moose’ Skowron is dead at 81

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