A man who spent more than seven decades with the Dodger organization, going back to the iconic days of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Tommy Lasorda died last week. The fiery leader of the Los Angeles Dodgers as manager for 21 years, was 93.
Lasorda had returned home from a two-month hospital stay due to heart issues when a suffered a heart attack on Thursday night. He had experienced a heart attack in 1996 that played a significant factor into the end of his managerial career later that year. In 2012, a second heart attack led to the insertion of a pacemaker.
Lasorda recorded a record of 1,599-1,439 in 21 years as manager of the franchise (1977-1996), winning World Series championships in 1981 and 1988, in addition to four National League flags and eight division titles.
As a player in Brooklyn, Lasorda had a pedestrian run with a franchise known as “The Bums” by its fans in the borough, going 0-4 with a 6.48 ERA as a pitcher from 1954 to 1956.
Lasorda, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997, was the oldest living Hall of Famer at the time of his death. That distinction now passes to Giants legend Willie Mays, who turns 90 in March.
Photo credit – Wikimedia Commons