Mickey Heath, Former Stars’ Player, Dies

Mickey Heath, 83, a first baseman with the Hollywood Stars of the old Pacific Coast League from 1927 to 1930, died Wednesday in Dallas of pneumonia and complications of age after a series of operations.

Heath, whose real first name was Minor, helped the Stars win the PCL pennant in 1929, when he had 156 runs batted in and led the team in home runs with 38, hits with 237 and total bases with 403. He was also the end man of the Stars’ double-play combination of Dudley Lee to Johnny Kerr to Heath as Hollywood won 111 games.

The Stars also took the pennant in 1930 with 119 wins, and Heath was sold to the Cincinnati Reds. He played only 46 games in two years with the Reds.

After his playing career was over, Heath was hired by the late Bill Veeck as an announcer for the old Milwaukee Brewers in the American Assn., a position he held until 1951.

After his retirement, Heath lived in Costa Mesa and Malibu. He is survived by a son, Stan, who lives in Dallas, and a daughter, Mrs. Dona Bigelow of Malibu. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.