Bob Boone, the catcher on the Philadelphia Phillies team that won the club’s first World Series in 1980, has died at the age of 78. His son Bret announced the death on Tuesday on social media, and the Phillies said Boone died on Monday. No cause of death was announced.
Bob Boone played 19 seasons in the major leagues, 10 with the Phillies, seven with the California Angels and two with the Kansas City Royals. He won seven Gold Gloves, made four All-Star teams and retired as the game’s all-time leader in games caught.
Bob Boone and the 1980 Phillies
Bob Boone was behind the plate for the Phillies’ first championship, a six-game win over the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series. He led the Phillies with a .412 batting average in the series, going 7 for 17 with four runs batted in.
He caught the final out of the clincher in Game 6 at Veterans Stadium, when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to seal the title. Moments earlier, Frank White had lifted a foul pop near the Phillies dugout that bounced out of Boone’s mitt, and Pete Rose caught it before it hit the ground, a play that is still replayed in Philadelphia.
The Phillies had reached the Series by outlasting Houston in a five-game National League Championship Series. Bob Boone was the first Phillies catcher to win a Gold Glove, in 1978 and 1979. He won two more with the Phillies and five with the Angels in the American League, and his last came in 1989 at the age of 41, making him the oldest position player to win the award.
Seven Gold Gloves and four All-Star teams
Bob Boone was born in San Diego on November 19, 1947, and starred at Stanford before reaching the majors with the Phillies in 1972. He made the National League All-Star team in 1976, 1978 and 1979, and he was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 2005.
Over his career, Bob Boone batted .254 with 105 home runs. He was known as a steady handler of pitchers, and his work behind the plate shaped the staff that carried the Phillies to their first title after 97 years without one.
Boone caught 1,095 games for the Phillies, second in club history behind Red Dooin’s 1,124. Catching is the most punishing job on the field, and Boone held it down for nearly two decades while hitting well enough to stay in the lineup.
A family of major leaguers
Bob Boone was the middle link in the first three-generation family in major league history. His father, Ray Boone, played 13 seasons in the majors and was a two-time All-Star infielder with the Detroit Tigers before becoming a scout with the Boston Red Sox.
When Bret Boone reached the majors with Seattle in 1992, the Boones became the first family with three generations of major leaguers. Bret was a three-time All-Star over a 14-year career spent largely with the Mariners. His brother Aaron played 13 seasons in the majors and now manages the New York Yankees, and Aaron’s son Jake has carried the family into a fourth generation as a professional infielder.
Bob Boone after playing
After his playing days, Boone managed the Cincinnati Reds from 1995 to 1997 and the Kansas City Royals from 2001 to 2003. He later worked in front offices and stayed close to the game through his sons and grandson.
The Phillies and the Major League Baseball Players Association both issued statements after the news. The players’ union and the club pointed to his seven Gold Gloves, his four All-Star selections and the 1980 title, and to a family that has now put four generations on professional diamonds.
Boone is survived by his wife, Susan, and by his sons and their families. The Phillies said further details would follow, and tributes from former teammates and players across the game continued through Tuesday.