Thurman Lee Munson

Background

Thurman Munson was born on June 7, 1947, in Akron, Ohio, one of four children of Ruth and Darrel Munson; his father was a farmhand. At age eight he moved with his family to Canton, Ohio, where his father drove long-distance trucks.

Education

At Canton-Lehman High School, Munson made All-State in baseball, football, and basketball. He graduated in 1965 and entered Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, with an athletic scholarship.

Career

At Kent Stat University Munson starred as a football linebacker and made the 1968 All-American team as a baseball catcher. The New York Yankees picked Munson first in the 1968 free-agent draft.

After dropping out of college, Munson played some 100 minor league games with Binghamton, New York (Eastern League), in 1968 and Syracuse, New York (International League), in 1969 and then joined the Yankees that September. The Yankees rebuilt their team around Munson and star outfielder Bobby Murcer.

In 1970, the five-foot, eleven-inch, 190-pound righthanded Munson helped lift New York from fifth to second place in the American League East with a . 302 batting average. The Baseball Writers' Association of America voted him American League Rookie of the Year.

In 1971 he tied the club record for best fielding average by a catcher (. 998). A sensational 1973 season saw him bat . 301 with twenty home runs. A classic field general, Munson handled pitchers in a masterly fashion and threw out base stealers with perhaps the league's quickest release. Catchers Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox and Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds received more publicity and acclaim, though. Munson led Fisk in every offensive department except home runs, but fans voted Fisk to start the 1973 All-Star Game. Munson, however, started at catcher for the American League in the 1974 through 1976 All-Star games. His best major league season came in 1975, when he compiled the third-best batting average (. 318) in the American League and the most runs batted in (102) by a Yankee since 1964.

In 1976, Yankee manager Billy Martin named Munson the first club captain since Lou Gehrig had been given the title in 1939. Munson led the Yankees to their first American League pennant since 1964, batting . 302 with seventeen home runs, 105 runs batted in, and fourteen stolen bases. He hit . 435 in the Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals and his eight singles set a five-game Championship Series record. He batted . 529 with nine hits in the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, setting four-game World Series records for most singles (8), assists by a catcher (7), and players caught stealing (5). The Reds, however, went on to sweep the Series. The Baseball Writers' Association of America selected Munson the American League's Most Valuable Player.

In 1977, Munson batted . 308 with eighteen home runs and 100 runs batted in. The Yankees defeated Kansas City in the Championship Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, their first world title since 1962. Munson batted . 320 in the World Series with eight hits, one home run, and three runs batted in. A financial dispute with Yanknees owner George Steinbrenner ended in March 1978, when he signed a four-year contract averaging $420, 000 annually.

Munson batted . 297 in 1978, but arm troubles, tendinitis, and creaky knees limited his home run production. The Yankees vanquished the Boston Red Sox in a dramatic Eastern Division playoff game, Kansas City in the Championship Series, and Los Angeles in the World Series, as Munson again batted . 320 with eight hits and seven runs batted in. Munson had become a licensed pilot in 1977 and often flew his plane between New York and his home in Canton, near Cleveland. He died on August 2, 1979, in the crash of his Cessna Citation, a twin-engine jet, while attempting to land at Akron-Canton Airport.

Achievements

• Thurman Lee Munson was a professional baseball catcher, who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1969 - 1979). A seven-time All-Star, Munson had a career batting average of . 292 with 113 home runs and 701 runs batted in (RBIs). Known for his outstanding fielding, he won the Gold Glove Award in three consecutive years (1973 - 1975). Thurman Munson was inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Thurman Munson: an Autobiography With Martin Appel. Memorial Edition, 1979
  • Thurman Munson

Connections

On September 21, 1968, Thurman Munson married Diane Lynn Dominick; they had three children.

Father:

Darrel Munson

Mother:

Ruth Munson

Wife:

Diane Lynn Munson (Dominick)

Daughter:

Kelly Munson

Daughter:

Tracy Munson

Son:

Michael Munson

References

• Thurman Munson: A Baseball Biography
• Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain
• Thurman Munson: Pressure player (Putnam sport shelf)