Hall of Famer Appling Dies at 83 in Georgia

Luke Appling, the Hall of Fame shortstop who continued to teach hitting long past his retirement, died suddenly Thursday. He was 83.

Appling, who played his entire 20-year career with the Chicago White Sox, batted more than .300 16 times, won two American League batting titles, set major league records for longevity at shortstop and retired with a .310 lifetime average.

He was admitted to Lakeside Community Hospital on Wednesday night with an aneurysm of the aorta. Appling died during surgery hours later.

Lucius Benjamin Appling Jr. had his finest season in 1936, leading the AL with a .388 batting average--highest ever for a shortstop--and driving in 128 runs.

He won a second batting title in 1943, hitting .328, and missed another when he hit .348 in 1940, four points behind Joe DiMaggio.

But Appling, who never played on a championship club, got perhaps his most famous hit in 1982, when, at the age of 75, he slammed a home run off Warren Spahn in an old-timers’ game at Washington’s RFK Stadium.

“That home run gets more attention than any homer--or even any hit--that I ever had,” he said four years later. “It’s pretty amazing.”

In his playing days, Appling was known as “Old Aches and Pains” for complaining to teammates about how awful he felt.

Appling was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964. He was named an AL all-star seven times. He set seven AL fielding records, and led the league seven times in assists--a record he shares with fellow White Sox Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.

Appling’s 2,218 games at shortstop were a major league record until Aparicio broke it. And his record of 20 seasons as a major league shortstop still stands.

Appling also set nine batting records for the White Sox, who retired his No. 4.

Appling played in 2,422 major league games, getting 2,749 hits in 8,857 at-bats.

After retiring as a player in 1950, Appling stayed in baseball until his death, managing in the minor leagues and working as a coach.

In his only venture as a major league manager, he was 10-30 with the 1967 Kansas City Athletics.

Appling also coached in the AL for Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore, Detroit and Oakland before becoming a hitting instructor with the National League’s Braves’ organization in 1976.

“He was a true Hall of Famer on and off the field,” Brave Manager Bobby Cox said. “Even in his 80s, Luke retained an outstanding enthusiasm for the game of baseball. As much as anyone I’ve known, Luke lived a very happy life.”

The regular-season statistics of Hall of Fame shortstop Luke Appling, who played his entire career with the Chicago White Sox:

Year AB R H HR RBI Avg. ’30 26 2 8 0 2 .308 ’31 297 36 69 1 28 .232 ’32 489 66 134 3 63 .274 ’33 612 90 197 6 85 .322 ’34 452 75 137 2 61 .303 ’35 525 94 161 1 71 .307 ’36 526 111 204 6 128 .388 ’37 574 98 182 4 77 .317 ’38 294 41 89 0 44 .303 ’39 516 82 162 0 56 .314 ’40 566 96 197 0 79 .348 ’41 592 93 186 1 57 .314 ’42 543 78 142 3 53 .262 ’43 585 63 192 3 80 .328 ’45 58 12 21 1 10 .362 ’46 582 59 180 1 55 .309 ’47 503 67 154 8 49 .306 ’48 497 63 156 0 47 .314 ’49 492 82 148 5 58 .301 ’50 128 11 30 0 13 .234 Totals 8,857 1,319 2,749 45 1,116 .310