Leavitt Leo Daley was born October 7th, 1932 in Orange California, and was named after his father.  For baseball fans he is known as Bud Daley. He pitched for the Kansas City Athletics from 1958 to 1961.  At birth Daley suffered some complications when in delivery the instrument the doctor was using slipped and pinched a nerve in his right shoulder leaving his right shoulder paralyzed for the first six months of his life.  Daley’s mother stated that no one wanted a baby as much as she did, but Buddy was so crippled she did not want him to live.  But through exercise and message therapy his health improved.  This improvement and the desire to play baseball lead to a major league career that lasted 10 seasons. 
In 1951 at the age of 18, Bud signed as an amateur free agent with the Cleveland Indians organization and spent the first five years in professional baseball playing at the minor league level.  At the end of the 1955 season Bud was called up to the major leagues by the Indians and appeared in two games.  When asked what he remembered most about making it to the major leagues, Bud responded that he thought AAA would be as far as he would make it in baseball.  Bud returned to the minor leagues in 1956, but was called up and appeared in 14 games at the end of that season, and then split the 1957 season between AAA and the big league club.  In April of 1958 Bud was traded from the Indians to the Baltimore Orioles.  Two weeks later the Orioles traded him to the Kansas City Athletics in exchange for pitcher Arnie Portocarrero.  Bud responded to this quick trade, that Orioles Manager Paul Richards said he had to trade Daley because the Orioles had 7 left-handed pitchers at that time.  He was a left-handed knuckleball pitcher that threw a round house curve ball. In 1958 with the A’s Bud appeared in 26 games mostly in relief.  But beginning in 1959, Bud became the Ace of the A’s pitching staff.  In both the 1959 and 1960 seasons Bud collected 16 victories.  When asked about those seasons he remembered how much fun it was to go out and pitch every four days. 
In 1959 Casey Stengel selected Daley to the AL All Star teams pitching staff, and represented the Kansas City A’s in both the 1959 All Star game as well as the 1960 Classic.  From 1959 to 1962 two all star games were held each season in different cities.  Daley reflected that his best memory of the All Star game was getting to pitch at home in Kansas City in 1960,  He stated that he was asked by Chicago White Sox Manager Al Lopez  if he wanted to start the 2nd All Star game in New York or pitch the last inning of the game in Kansas City.  He chose to pitch in front of the home town fans in Kansas City and said it was one of his biggest thrills.  During his time in Kansas City he had a battery mate named Pete Daley.  They were affectionately known as the “Daley Double”.  His roommate on the road was Ray Herbert.  When he was asked what he remembered most about his Kansas City teammates, he stated that all of them were in the same boat trying to make a living. 
During his time with the A’s pitching in Municipal Stadium he remembered most the wind blowing out to left field and the grass bank in right field.  After appearing in 16 games for the A’s in 1961, Daley was traded to the New York Yankees.  Many people have said that the A’s were a “farm club” of the Yankees because of the great players the A’s traded to New York, and the relationship of owner Arnold Johnson to the Yankees.  When asked about being traded to New York, Bud reflected that most of the players always hoped to be traded to New York.  “It meant a trip to the World Series!”  Becoming a Yankee in 1961 brought some memorable experiences playing with Yankee greats like Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra as well as being in the middle of the home run battle between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.  He also appeared in two World Series, winning World Championships in 1961 against the Cincinnati Reds and in 1962 against the San Francisco Giants.  He remembers most about his Yankee experience just being thankful for being on the best team in baseball.  In 1963 Bud appeared in only 1 game for the Yankees due to injuries, and then pitched in 13 games in 1964 to finish his major league career.  After the 1964 season Bud was traded back to the Cleveland Indians, but did not appear in any games before retiring. 
Bud Daley will be remembered by Kansas City fans as the Ace of the Staff during his time with the A’s.  He should be remembered as someone who overcame adversity to accomplish his dreams.

Mark Moore

A's pitcher Glen Cox passes away

Glenn Cox, who pitched in 18 games for the Kansas City A's between 1955-1958, passed away at his home in Los Molinos California on January 8, 2012 at the age of 80. He was in professional baseball from 1950-1959, playing in the Brooklyn Dodger, Kansas City A's and New York Yankees organizations. In later years he coached baseball for Los Molinos High School, leading the team to numerous championships. In 2009 he published a book about his baseball career titled "The Way The Game Was Played". The KCBHS extends its thoughts and prayers to the family of Glenn Cox

FORMER KANSAS CITY A'S INFIELDER ANDY CAREY PASSES AWAY DEC. 15, 2011

CONGRATS TO HALL OF FAME
GROUNDSKEEPER GEORGE TOMA

On July 4th, 2011 former outfielder Wes Covington, Age 79, passed away in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He had a 11 year major league career, playing for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was often remembered for his hitting and defensive prowess during the 1957 World Series, in which the Milwaukee Braves defeated the New York Yankees. Covington was part of a trade from the Chicago White Sox to the Kansas City A's in 1961 in which the A's sent Andy Carey, Ray Herbert, Don Larsen and Al Pilarcik to Chicago. He appeared in 17 games for the Kansas City A's and was then traded by the A's to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Bobby Del Greco.

On July 7th, 2011 former outfielder and longtime MLB manager Dick Williams passed away in Las Vegas, age 82. He played 13 years in the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics and Boston Red Sox. He was traded in 1958 by the Orioles to Kansas City in exchange for Chico Carrasquel. Williams played for the A's in the 1959-1960 seasons. He later became a manger, and in 21 seasons managed the Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, California Angels, Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners. He led the Oakland A's to two World Series championships during his tenure there, and in 2007 was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Manager. 

Don Fred Williams | Born:  September 14, 1931 (Floyd, VA) | Died: October 16, 2011 (Floyd, VA)
Former Kansas City Athletics player Don Williams passed away October 16, 2011.  He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee and George Washington University. Upon graduating from Tennessee he joined the army and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953.  Don played for the Pirates organization from 1953 through 1961, making appearances in the major leagues for the Pirates in 1958 and 1959.  Don was a relief pitcher and in 1958 appeared in two games for the Pirates in relief.  In 1959 he appeared in 6 games for Pittsburgh.  He recorded his first and only major league base hit in 1959 with a triple.  He was sent to the Chicago White Sox organization in 1961 and then was dealt to the Kansas City Athletics before the 1962 season.  With the A’s in 1962 Don made three relief appearances finishing his major league playing career. Don had a twin brother Dewey Williams that pitched several seasons in the minor leagues in the Pirates organization. After professional baseball, he taught and coached P.E. in Montgomery Co. Maryland. Don and his brother had a summer camp for kids in Pennsylvania called Camp Bright Star. Upon retiring from teaching, he returned to his home where he farmed, raised cattle, and collected Indian artifacts.  

Submitted by KCBHS member Mark Moore

Former Kansas City A's pitcher John "Sonny" Dixon passed away on November 19, 2011 in Charlotte, NC. He played professional baseball from 1941 to 1960 except for three years while he was serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Sonny played in the major leagues for 3 1/2 years with the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics, Kansas City Athletics and the New York Yankees. He held The American League record for appearing in 54 games in 1954 and was inducted into the American Legion Hall of fame in 1989.  As a member of the 1954 Philadelphia A's, he came to Kansas City as a member of the inaugural 1955 team when the franchis moved to Kansas City.  He appeared in two games for the Kansas City A's, but on May 11, 1955 the A's traded him to the New York Yankees in return for Johnny Sain and Enos Slaughter.  The KCBHS thanks Sonny Dixon for his service to our country and his baseball career, and our thoughts and prayers to the Dixon family.

LEGENDARY SLUGGER HARMON
KILLEBREW PASSES AWAY

Harmon Killebrew, legendary slugger who played his final year in baseball with the 1975 Kansas City Royals, passed away on May 17 in Scottsdale, Arizona after a long battle with cancer.  Born June 29, 1936, Harmon Killebrew was signed by the Washington Senators in 1954 at the age of 17. Regarded as one of the most prolific power hitters in major league baseball history, Harmon “Killer” Killebrew amassed numbers matched only by the game’s very elite. In his 22 years of hard work and productivity, he was named American League All-Star 13 times, the 1969 American League Most Valuable Player and a six-time American League home run leader. At the time of his retirement, he hit more home runs (573) than any right-handed hitter. In 1984, Killebrew joined baseball’s immortals with his election into the Hall of Fame.   The Kansas City Baseball Historical Society extends thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of baseball legend, Harmon Killebrew.

Royals Legend Paul Splittorff passes away

Paul Splittorff, Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame pitcher who won more games than any Royals pitcher, died of complications from melanoma on May 25th in Blue Springs, Mo.

Splittorff, 64, was hospitalized on May 16 for treatment of oral cancer and melanoma but recently returned home.

Survivors include his wife, Lynn; a daughter, Jennifer, and a son, Jamie.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to: St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation, 201 NW R.D. Mize Rd., Blue Springs, Mo. 64014

Splittorff spent his entire 15-year Major League career with the Royals and had a 166-143 record and 3.81 ERA in 429 regular-season games. He played in four postseasons, 1976-77-78 and 1980, reaching the World Series in the latter year. His postseason mark was 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA. Both wins were against the Yankees, in 1976 and '77.

Splittorff not only holds the Royals' career record for victories, he is the leader in starts (392) and innings pitched (2,554 2/3). He became the club's first 20-game winner in 1973, when he went 20-11. He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1987.

To honor Splittorff's memory, the Royals will wear a memorial patch that says "Splitt" on a sleeve of their jerseys for the remainder of the season.

"He wasn't blessed with a 100-mph fastball, he wasn't blessed with a Bert Blyleven curve, he wasn't blessed with a tremendous changeup, but he was blessed a good brain. He knew how to pitch," said teammate and Hall of Famer George Brett. "He was blessed with a big heart and put it all on the line. He was always prepared; he was always in good shape."

Splittorff's playing career spanned from 1970-84 and after his retirement he became known to a legion of baseball and Big 12 basketball fans as a highly respected and knowledgeable broadcaster.

Frank White, a teammate who took over in the TV booth during Splittorff's illness, remembered him fondly.

"Paul [was] probably one of the more underrated guys on our team," White said. "He not only played for 15 years but he won some huge games for us. I have memories of him beating the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1980 playoffs to get us to our first World Series."

Splittorff, with relief help from Dan Quisenberry and home runs by Brett and White, beat the Yankees, 4-2, in New York to sweep the American League Championship Series -- finally, after the Royals had lost to the Bronx Bombers three times in the '70s.

"Splitt was a great teammate, a great professional, [he] taught me a lot about catching," said Jamie Quirk, another teammate on those Royals teams. "I was a converted catcher and used to sit with him and go over hitters. He had a big influence in my career.

"You had George Brett, who's the No. 1 Royal. Frank White is probably No. 2. No one has ever gotten past that, but I would still put Splitt No. 3. In Kansas City he's gotten his due because he was a former player to broadcast for 20-something years and first as a pitcher, but I don't think people realize some of the things he accomplished."

Splittorff this year was working in his 24th season as a television analyst for FOX Sports Kansas City. However, his appearances on Royals broadcasts in the past three years had been limited because of difficulties with his voice.

Splittorff was a two-sport star in baseball and basketball at Morningside College in Iowa and carried the love of both sports with him throughout his life. The expansion Royals drafted him in 1968.

"He was a long shot to make it to the Major Leagues, being a 25th-round Draft pick out of a small college and he signs with a team that he'd never heard of because the Major League team wasn't operating yet," Davis said. "They sent him to Corning, N.Y., and because they didn't have a Double-A team at the time, he jumps to Triple-A Omaha. And he not only defies the odds by making it to the Major Leagues, he was extremely successful."

As a rookie in 1971, he showed his promise by recording a 2.68 ERA to go with an 8-9 record. In 1973, he went 20-11 and came close to that level in 1978, when he was 19-13.

"He knew how to pitch," Brett said. "Sometimes you have to will your way to victory and the guy with the biggest heart will win. And that's what he had."

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Former A's Infielder "Spook" Jacobs passes away.

Reno Bertoia, who played part of the season with the 1961 Kansas City Athletics, passed away on April 15th in Windsor, Ontario.  He played 10 years in the majors, with the Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators and Kansas City A's.   In 1961 he was traded by the Minnesota twins to the A's for Bill Tuttle.  He was traded by the A's later in that season to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Bill Fischer.   In 1982 he was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Former KC Royals Manager Charlie Metro dies at 91"

He managed the Royals for 52 games during the 1970 season. He also managed the Chicago Cubs for part of the 1962 season.

Posted: 03/23/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
By Irv Moss, The Denver Post

If legends are made by the number of stories told about them, Charlie Metro qualifies hands down.

Metro also was a great storyteller, particularly when it came to talking about his 47 years in baseball. His spectrum included managing stops with the Denver Bears, Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.

Metro, 91, died Friday in Buckingham, Va., of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. Services were in Buckingham and a Celebration of Life is scheduled April 9 in Denver. He had operated a ranch northwest of Arvada and raised quarter horses until three years ago, when he moved to Buckingham.

"The horses were the third love of his life," said Elena Metro, Charlie's daughter. Helen, his wife of 70 years, and baseball provided the other two.

Metro became prominent in Denver's baseball history in 1960 when he managed the Bears to their first American Association regular-season championship. He also managed the Bears the following year before moving to the Cubs in 1962 and becoming part of "The College of Coaches."

In an experiment, Metro, Elvin Tappe and Lou Klein took turns as manager during the season. The team finished 59-103 and in ninth place.

"It was like having a three-legged horse," Metro said of the experiment. "Occasionally the team would play real well, but about that time they'd rotate the coaches again."

The Cubs roster that year included Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo.

Metro, who managed the Royals in 1970, was involved in baseball at a time when there were as many as 54 leagues around the country. He remembered that he had 38 different mailing addresses while he was in the game.

As for his playing days with Detroit and the Philadelphia Athletics, Metro quipped, "I hit .400, .200 each year."

Metro made an important suggestion in the early blueprints of Coors Field. From his experience in Kansas City, he urged the builders to include batting cages for both the home and visiting teams under the grandstand, and the idea was added to the construction plan.

Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com

Submitted by KCBHS Member Mark Moore:

We have lost two former Kansas City
Athletic players in September.

Bob Shaw- Robert John Shaw (June 29, 1933 – September 23, 2010)
died of liver cancer on September 23, 2010.
Bob Shaw pitched for the Kansas City Athletics in 1961 appearing in 26 games, making 24 starts going 9 and 10 with a 4.31 ERA with 60 strikeouts.  Mr. Shaw came to Kansas City in a trade with the Chicago White Sox in 1961 along with  Covington, Stan Johnson and  Gerry Staley with the A’s sending Andy Carey, Ray Herbert, Don Larsen  and Al Pilarcik.  The Athletics traded Mr. Shaw to the Milwaukee Braves along with Lou Klimchock receiving in exchange Joe Azcue, Ed Charles and Manny Jiminez.  Mr. Shaw also pitched for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Braves, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.  He won 18 games for the 1959 White Sox and started 2 games of the World Series, going 1-1 as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Sox.

Al Pilarcik-  Alfred J. Pilarcik 
(July 3, 1930 – September 23,2010)

Al Pilarcik played for the Kansas City Athletics in 1956 and 1961.  Mr. Pilarcik was originally signed by the New York Yankees in 1948 then was sent to the Kansas City organization in 1955.  He made his major league debut as a member of the A’s in 1956 appearing in 69 games, playing both center field and right field.  That season he batted .251 with 60 base hits including 10 doubles and 4 home runs with 22 RBI’s, 28 runs scored and 9 stolen bases.  He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Jim Pisoni and played for Baltimore from 1957 to 1960.  The Orioles traded Mr. Pilarcik back to Kansas City along with Jim Archer, Bob Boyd, Wayne Causey and Clint Courtney in exchange for Whitey Herzog and Russ Snyder.  He appeared in 35 games for the A’s in 1961 before being traded to the Chicago White Sox.  In that trade Mr. Pilarcik along with Andy Carey, Ray Herbert and Don Larsen went to the White Sox in exchange for Wes Covington, Stan Johnson, Gerry Staley and Bob Shaw (see information above on the death of Mr. Shaw).

Former A's Outfielder Gino Cimoli Dies

Gino Cimoli, outfielder for the Kansas Cityy A's from 1962-1964, passed away Saturday. February 12th at age 81, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.  His major league career went from 1956-1965, appearing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Athletics, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles.  He had a lifetime batting average of .265, with 808 career hits and 44 home runs.

Cimoli came up with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956 at age 26 and was the leadoff batter in the inaugural major league regular season game in California, on April 15, 1958 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco.

Cimoli, who went 5 for 20 with two walks for the Pirates in the 1960 World Series, had a pinch-hit single to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning in Pittsburgh's memorable Game 7 victory. As a rookie, he was on the Dodgers' 1956 World Series team but did not bat.

Former MLB pitcher Danny McDevitt passed away on November 20, 2010 in Covington, Georgia.   He pitched for seven years in the major leagues from 1957-1962, appearing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Athletics.   He appeared in 33 games for the 1962 A's, and spent part of the 1963 season with the A's AAA farm team, the Portland Beavers, before he retired from baseball.    He is remembered for striking out nine Pittsburgh Pirates, when he pitched a complete game 2-0 victory for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field on September 24, 1957.   That would be the final home game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

Gus Zernial passes away. Former Kansas City A's (1955-1957) outfielder Gus "Ozark Ike" Zernial, died Thursday, January 19th in Fresno, California.