May

18

Harmon,

Thanks for showing a young boy and his dad how much fun night games could be. And thanks also for showing him how to carry oneself with humility.

See you later,

Jay

The iconic Twin, known as much for his humble demeanor as his prodigious home runs, died Tuesday morning at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home at the age of 74 after a nearly five-month battle with esophageal cancer. When Harmon Killebrew's bulging forearms snapped his bat through the strike zone and made full contact, there was nothing else like it in baseball. His home runs were towering blasts that provided Minnesotans with their introduction to major league baseball.

full article here.

The solemnity of the occasion brings back other valuable memories of growing up with the Twins, like sitting on relief-pitcher Mudcat Grant's knee for a picture at home plate, or having a baseball autographed by Tony Oliva.

One of the most memorable occasions was when my Dad took me to Duff's Bar in Minneapolis to meet Billy Martin after a day game- after handing him a piece of paper for his autograph he crumpled up the paper, threw it on the floor, sat me on his knee then opened a box of baseballs which he autographed for me. I never did think he was such a bad guy. Solemn days are good for recollection, and the counting of gifts…
 


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  1. steve on May 18, 2011 5:23 pm

    Harmon Killerbrew put up Homeric numbers during his career. At one time he was 5 on the home run list. He spent the majority of his career in the midwest and was more or less underappreciated because of this one fact. He played 22 years

    I also understand that he was a complete gentleman and a fine husband and family man. An old school player that just isn’t around today.

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