Whiz Kids’ Ashburn Dies After Broadcasting Game

Richie Ashburn, a Philadelphia sports institution through six decades, first as a popular player with, then as a broadcaster for the Phillies, died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack in his New York hotel room. He was 70.

Harry Kalas, a broadcast partner and close friend, said Ashburn was fine while working Monday night’s game against the Mets at Shea Stadium. But Ashburn called traveling secretary Eddie Ferenz early Tuesday, complaining about illness, and by the time trainer Jeff Cooper and paramedics arrived at the room, he was dead, Kalas said.

The Phillies said they would wear black armbands with Ashburn’s No. 1 the rest of the season. The disk bearing that retired number at Veterans Stadium will be draped in black.

At the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., which enshrined Ashburn in 1995 on a vote by the Veterans’ Committee, the flag flew at half-staff and a wreath was placed next to his plaque.

Ashburn signed with the Phillies in 1944 as a 21-year-old farm boy from Tilden, Neb. In 1948, he became the Sporting News rookie of the year after batting .333. In 1950, he was a key player with the Whiz Kids, the team that won the National League pennant.

Ashburn, best known as a classic singles hitter, made perhaps the biggest play of his career that season, throwing out Brooklyn’s Cal Abrams at the plate to preserve the pennant-clinching victory in the final game of the season. The Phillies were then swept by the Yankees in the World Series.

In all, Ashburn played for the Phillies from 1948-59 and finished his career by playing two seasons with the Chicago Cubs and a final season with the expansion 1962 Mets.

He led National League outfielders in putouts nine times, tying a major league record. He won league batting titles in 1955, hitting .338, and 1958, hitting .350. He also finished second three times and batted better than .300 nine times. He led the NL in hits and triples three times, and in walks and runs four times.

He played in six All-Star games and the one World Series. He still holds Phillie records for consecutive games, 731, and singles, 1,811.

“The way he played, running as hard as he did and as fast he did, absolutely convinced people he was trying all the time,” Bill Campbell, his first broadcast partner, told the Associated Press. “This is a town that thrives on effort.”

A longtime Republican, Ashburn said he considered entering politics in Nebraska after retiring in 1962, but decided against it when he was asked to run against a good friend. The Phillies then offered him a job in the broadcast booth. He also worked as a columnist for the Philadelphia Bulletin and Daily News from 1974-91.

Ashburn may yet receive another recognition from the Hall of Fame. There is a good chance he will appear on the ballot for the Ford Frick Award, the Hall’s honor for broadcasters, this winter, and if selected he would become the first person honored in Cooperstown as a player and broadcaster.

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Ashburn at a Glance

Seasons: 15

Career Avg.: 308

Hits: 2,574

Runs: 1,322