MOUNT VERNON, Mo. (AP) – Mickey Owen, whose infamous dropped third strike proved costly to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1941 World Series against the New York Yankees, died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 89.
Owen, a four-time All-Star in 13 major league seasons over a 17-year span, later became a county sheriff in his native southwest Missouri. He died at the Missouri Veterans Home.
He had Alzheimer’s disease for a number of years, according to Ken Rizzo, president and owner of the Mickey Owen Baseball School in Miller.
Owen broke into the majors in 1937 with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1942, he was the first player to hit a pinch-hit homer in an All-Star game.
But it was the lapse in the 1941 World Series that came to define his career.
Brooklyn had a 4-3 lead in Game 4 when Owen dropped a third strike on Tommy Henrich that would have been the final out. The Yankees went on to score four runs after the passed ball and won 7-4 for a 3-1 lead in the World Series they eventually won in five games.
Owen had a .995 fielding percentage that season – then a team record – and set a National League record for catchers with 476 consecutive chances without an error.
“I don’t mind being the goat,” he said later. “I’m just sorry for what I cost the other guys.”
Owen went to the Mexican League as a player-manager in 1946 and was blackballed from the majors for three years. He played for the Chicago Cubs from 1949-51 and appeared in 32 games for the Boston Red Sox in 1954, ending his career with a .255 batting average, 14 home runs and 378 RBIs.
He was a scout after his retirement, and founded his school to develop young players in 1959.
“He was a very popular and well-liked person around here,” Rizzo said. “Before his health declined, he was always around and everyone would gathered around him to listen to his stories.”
Owen was the sheriff of Greene County for 16 years, running unsuccessfully for Missouri lieutenant governor after his last term ended in 1980.
Owen is survived by a son, Charlie. Funeral services were planned for Saturday in Springfield.
AP-ES-07-13-05 2155EDT
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.