Tug McGraw, 59; Pitched 19 Years for Mets and Phillies

Tug McGraw, the relief pitcher who coined the phrase “Ya Gotta Believe” during the New York Mets’ improbable run to the 1973 National League pennant and who closed out the Philadelphia Phillies’ only World Series title in 1980, died Monday. He was 59.

McGraw died of brain cancer at the home of his son, country music star Tim McGraw, outside of Nashville, according to Laurie Hawkins, a family spokeswoman. In March, McGraw had a malignant tumor removed from his brain during a six-hour operation in Tampa, Fla.

A left-hander whose best pitch was the screwball, McGraw was known for his animated style, often slapping his glove on his right thigh and tapping his chest after a close call.

“Patting his hand on his heart after a guy hits a home run foul, who would do that in the heat of the battle?” asked Phillie Manager Larry Bowa, who played with McGraw on the 1980 championship team. “But it showed he had no fear. He was loose. That’s how he played the game.”

Frank Edwin McGraw Jr. was born Aug. 30, 1944, in Martinez, Calif. He was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1964. In a 19-year career with the Mets and Phillies that ran until 1984, McGraw won 96 games and lost 92, with a 3.14 earned-run average and 180 saves. In 26 postseason games, he had a 2.23 ERA and was 3-3 with eight saves.

“We lost a part of Mets history tonight,” Met owner Fred Wilpon said. “Tug was a battler on and off the field. I know he fought the disease with every ounce of energy he had. We’ll all miss him dearly.”

A fan favorite in both Philadelphia and New York, McGraw is best remembered by Phillie fans for striking out Kansas City’s Willie Wilson to end Game 6 of the 1980 World Series and win the title.

“He put up a gallant fight,” Mike Schmidt, the Phillies’ Hall of Fame third baseman, said of his former teammate’s battle with cancer. “Publicly, he never let on that he had gotten a raw deal. He was Tug through the entire thing. As he always said, ‘I front-loaded my life, just like my contract.’ His passing is hard to take because his presence meant so much to people around him.”

The ’73 Mets fought back from an 11 1/2-game deficit in August to win the NL East title on the final day of the season. The Mets had been on the verge of collapse when M. Donald Grant, the club’s chairman, lectured the players in a clubhouse meeting.

After Grant left the clubhouse, McGraw -- perhaps mocking Grant -- screamed, “Ya gotta believe!” The incident broke the tension and seemed to ignite the Mets, who soon after started a climb from last place.

“When it actually took place, it was hysterical,” former Met Rusty Staub told Newsday in July. “It was more funny than it was anything else. But it became more of a focus for us as we started to win.”

The Mets lost the 1973 World Series to the Oakland Athletics in seven games.

After the 1974 season, McGraw was traded by the Mets to Philadelphia in a six-player deal that sent John Stearns to New York. With McGraw, the Phillies won five division titles, two NL pennants and one World Series.

McGraw was mischievous and well-known for his sense of humor. Once asked whether he preferred to play on a grass field or an artificial surface, he said, “I don’t know. I never smoked any AstroTurf.”

McGraw could take a joke, too. While working as a broadcaster after his playing career ended, he interviewed Cub fans watching a game from a rooftop across from Chicago’s Wrigley Field. When McGraw asked one fan if he had ever seen a ball hit up there, the fan said, “Not since you retired, Tug.”

McGraw’s illness came as a shock last spring. He was at Phillies’ training camp in Clearwater, Fla., as a special instructor, when he was hospitalized March 12.

He continued to use “Ya Gotta Believe” as his motto, making several public appearances after his surgery wearing a cap with the slogan on it.

According to his web- site, www.tugmcgraw.com, McGraw’s memoirs, titled “Ya Gotta Believe!: My Roller-Coaster Ride as a Screwball Pitcher, Part-Time Father and Hope-Filled Brain Tumor Survivor,” will be published in March.

In addition to his son Tim, who is married to country singer Faith Hill, McGraw is survived by sons Mark and Matthew; a daughter, Cari Velardo; and four grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

*

Associated Press contributed to this report.