Former Met Agee, 58, Dies of Heart Attack

Tommie Agee, the center fielder who made two of the greatest catches in World Series history to help the New York Mets win their unexpected title in 1969, died Monday of a heart attack. He was 58.

Agee was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. EST, Bellevue Hospital spokeswoman Lorinda Klein said. He collapsed while walking out of a midtown Manhattan office building.

Agee spent 12 seasons in the major leagues with Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox, the Mets, Houston and St. Louis, retiring in 1973 with a .255 career average, 130 home runs and 433 runs batted in.

He is best remembered for his performance in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series.

He homered off Jim Palmer leading off the bottom of the first inning. He then dashed into left-center in the fourth and stuck out his glove, catching the ball in the webbing to rob Elrod Hendricks with runners at first and third and two outs. That preserved a 3-0 New York lead.

In the seventh, he made a sliding catch in right-center to rob Paul Blair with two outs and the bases loaded. He probably prevented five Baltimore runs.

“The homer meant only one run,” Agee said after the game. “The catches saved more than that.”

The crowd of 56,335 gave Agee a standing ovation when he led off the bottom of the seventh.

“Words can’t describe how that made me feel,” he said. “I felt like I wanted to hit two home runs in that one time at bat.”

The catches immediately were rated among the best in Series play, along with grabs by Al Gionfriddo off Joe DiMaggio (1947), Willie Mays (1954) off Vic Wertz and Sandy Amoros (1955) off Yogi Berra.

In recent years, Agee worked for Stewart Title Insurance Co. in New York.

He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and daughter Janelle.