Player became White Sox coach

Don Gutteridge, 96, the last living St. Louis Brown who played in the 1944 World Series and manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1969 and 1970, died Sunday at his home in Pittsburg, Kan., his hometown, after contracting pneumonia about a month ago, son Don Gutteridge Jr. said.

Gutteridge played 12 seasons in the major leagues with four teams. He made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 7, 1936. He also played with the St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. A second and third baseman, he ended his career with a .256 lifetime average, 39 home runs and 391 runs batted in.

During the 1944 World Series, he turned five double plays in one game at second base for the Browns.

Gutteridge coached for the White Sox for several years in the 1960s, and in 1969 he succeeded Al Lopez as the club’s manager. The club finished in fifth place in the American League West in 1969. He was fired as manager with 26 games left in the 1970 season.

He later was a scout for the Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.