Gene Woodling; Yankees’ Outfielder Called ‘Old Faithful’
Gene Woodling, 78, a key outfielder on the New York Yankees’ teams that won the World Series from 1949 to 1953, died Saturday of heart failure in Akron, Ohio.
Woodling hit .318 in postseason play as the Yankees won a record five straight championships. He scored 21 runs in 26 World Series games. His home run in Game 7 of the 1952 World Series helped the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Woodling hit .284 with 147 home runs in a 17-year career that started in Cleveland in 1943. He later played for Pittsburgh, the Yankees, Baltimore and Washington before finishing with the 1962 New York Mets.
Woodling earned the nickname “Old Faithful” from Yankees’ announcer Mel Allen because of his timely hitting.
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