Passing of Clete Boyer

I remember him well. Great fielder and a fair/poor hitter, as least when compared to the other sticks in the lineup at that time. I havent checked his stats though so that remains a perception rather then fact.  Clete was the anchor third baseman known best for great defense and spetacular diving stops a la Brooks Robinson. He and his infield mates-Kubek, Richardson and Pepitone were publicized in a Life Magazine cover story aptly named Hands Across the Infield.
Thank you Clete ..

too old for me to remember but I knew his name from hearing family members talk about him. I think my grandma really liked him.

Ronster's right the Yankees do handle their older players well and try to keep their names alive.

I remember Clete well.

That infield in the early 60's was one of the greatest all around infields ever.

Pep at first, Richardson at 2nd, Kubek at short, and Boyer at 3rd.

They turned more than a few DPs and even a few 3Ps.

Not much got past Boyer.

When you added Ellie Howard behind the plate, that was one great infield.

My folks were close friends with Richardson, so we got a lot of opportunities to see the team, and meet them personally.  I've related the story of my encounter with Howard, but the few times I can remember of meeting Boyer, he was quite a gentleman and all around nice guy.

In 1963, I was 8.  My parents took us every summer to DC to stay at the Shoreham Hotel when the Yanks were playing the Senators.  (Remember them?)  The Shoreham was where the Yanks stayed.

Richardson and my parents grew up together in Sumter SC.

One morning, I was sitting in the lobby, by myself (a kid could do that then) on a couch getting autographs from guys on the team that I had met, and a big black guy came and sat beside me.  Remember, in 1963, a black man didn't spend time talking to a white kid from SC.

We started talking about b-ball, my little league career, and the way b-ball was so good for kids to learn various character building skills.

The guy was Ellie Howard.  We talked for 30 minutes.  He was waiting for the team bus, and I was waiting to go to the game, as well.

Great guy.

Jump forward to the late 70s.  I was in Tampa on business, and saw an ad for an autograph event.  Ellie Howard was there.  This was not long before he died.

I went, spoke with him, and thanked him for his time in 1963.  He took a break, and we went and sat down, and talked for another 30 miuntes.

He was a gem of a man.