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08-23-2003, 11:02 AM | #1 |
Club Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bolingbrook, IL
Posts: 1,906
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Farewell to BOBBY BONDS....
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)— Bobby Bonds, one of the first major leaguers to blend home-run power with base-stealing speed and the father of one of baseball's greatest sluggers, died Saturday. He was 57.
Barry Bonds' father had been ill for nearly a year with a brain tumor and lung cancer, but he never lost his love for baseball. He was at Pacific Bell Park as recently as Wednesday night, watching his superstar son and the San Francisco Giants. Bobby Bonds died shortly before 9 a.m. PDT, a Giants spokesman said. Barry Bonds will be away from the team indefinitely. In early June, Bobby Bonds spent time in the hospital while fighting pneumonia. He underwent surgery on a brain tumor in April, all while fighting lung cancer. Bonds, a three-time All-Star and the MVP of the 1973 game, hit 332 home runs and stole 461 bases for the Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas, Cleveland, St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs. He hit .268, had 1,024 RBIs and won three Gold Glove awards as an outfielder. Bonds became the second NL player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season in 1969 with the Giants. Willie Mays, his close friend and Barry Bonds' godfather, was the first to do it. Bobby Bonds reached the 30-30 mark four more times in his 14-year career. Barry Bonds has also done it five times; no other player has reached the mark more than three times. Bonds is survived by his wife, Pat, and three sons: Barry, Ricky and Bobby Jr. " Thanks Bobby for all you have done for baseball. God Bless!" |