Howser Succumbs to Cancer at Age 51

Dick Howser, who earned cheers for a World Series championship in Kansas City and admiration for a year-long struggle with brain cancer, died Wednesday at age 51.

Howser died at 2:45 p.m. (CDT) at St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was admitted June 4. On July 22, 1986, doctors partially removed a malignant tumor from the left side of Howser’s brain.

“This is a sad day for baseball. Dick Howser was one of the great men of our game,” said Peter Ueberroth, baseball commissioner.

Said Royal third baseman George Brett: “No matter how you prepare for this day, when it actually happens, it’s a shock. You just hate to see him go. He’s going to be missed. He’s left his mark on this organization.”

The week before he underwent surgery last July, Howser was the winning manager of the American League at the All-Star game in Houston. During the game, his players and coaches noticed he was often forgetful, had trouble recognizing people and complained of headaches.

Doctors were unable to remove the entire tumor and twice afterward used experimental procedures to try to stop the cancer from spreading.

Although the three operations had weakened him, Howser vowed to return this season to manage the Royals. He greeted his players when they opened spring training in February but resigned three days later, admitting he wasn’t up to the job.

“It just wouldn’t be fair to the team,” he said at the time.

He made his last public appearance April 6 when the Royals opened their home season.

New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner called Howser “one of the supreme battlers I knew in sports. He was a man of pride and integrity and he battled cancer with the same fervor he battled the opposition, with an aggressive spirit he exemplified both as a player and as a manager.”

After 10 years as a coach for the Yankees, Howser became manager in 1980 and guided the team to 103 victories and the American League East title. He became manager of the Royals in 1981, taking them to AL West titles in 1984 and 1985 and to the 1985 World Series championship. He never managed a team that finished worse than second.

Taking over in Kansas City when Jim Frey was fired during the strike-shortened 1981 season, he guided the Royals to the second-half AL West title, then managed them to second-place finishes in 1982 and 1983. His 1984 team won its fifth AL West title but lost to the eventual world champion Detroit Tigers in three straight playoff games. Howser’s major league managerial record was 507-425.

As manager of the 1985 Royals, Howser’s cool under fire may have been the decisive factor in one of the most unlikely comebacks in World Series history.

First, the Royals had to dig themselves out of a 7 1/2-game deficit at the All-Star break. With Howser juggling a young, unproven pitching staff, they edged the Angels by one game to win the West. They were picked to lose to the Toronto Blue Jays in the playoffs, and fell behind, 3-1, in the best-of-seven series.

After beating the Blue Jays in seven games, Howser’s Royals met the favored St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

The Royals opened at home and lost the first two games, but managed to overcome another 3-1 deficit to win the World Series.

No team had ever won the seven-game Series after opening with two losses at home. And only five teams in the history of the best-of-seven format have come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Howser broke into professional baseball in 1958 and made his major league debut with the Kansas City A’s in 1961, earning a berth on the All-Star team his first year. He retired in 1968 after playing for the A’s, Cleveland Indians and Yankees, compiling a career batting average of .268.

Born April 14, 1936 in Miami, Howser was one of Florida State’s most distinguished graduates. He played shortstop for the school in 1957 and 1958 and was its first consensus All-American. He also set a Florida State record with a .422 batting average.

In April, the school named its baseball stadium after him.

A public memorial service will be held today at 6 p.m. (CDT) at the Village Presbyterian Church in Mission, Kan. A funeral will be held Saturday at Tallahassee, Fla., at 2 p.m. (EDT) at the Fellowship Baptist Church, with burial at the Tallahassee Memory Gardens. The services in Florida will also be open to the public.

Howser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and twin daughters, Jill and Jan.