Maury Wills, the baseball legend who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win three World Series titles, has breathed his last at the age of 89. In 1959, his very first season with the Dodgers, Wills helped the team clinch the World Series. With the legendary shortstop and switch-hitter in their ranks, the Dodgers went on to repeat the feat in 1963 and 1965.
The Dodgers reported that Wills passed away at his home in Sedona, Arizona. The cause of the iconic sportsman’s death has not yet been revealed.
The LA outfit have released a video on Twitter captioned “Remembering Maury Wills”. Check out the video right here:
Dave Roberts, the current Dodgers manager, said on their official website, “I know he passed peacefully, and I am going to have a heavy heart. Maury was very impactful to me personally, professionally. He’s going to be missed. This one is tough for me.”
Stan Kasten, Dodgers’ team president and chief operating officer, said, “Maury Wills was one of the most exciting Dodgers of all time”, further adding, “He changed baseball with his baserunning and made the stolen base an important part of the game. He was very instrumental in the success of the Dodgers with three world championships.”
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association also tweeted a message of condolence:
After his first stint with the Dodgers from 1959 to 1966, Wills moved on to the Pittsburg Pirates, competing for them in the 1967 and 1968 seasons. The next season, Maury plied his trade for the Montreal Expos. He moved back to the Dodgers at the twilight of his career, playing four seasons for them between 1969 to 1972. Eight years after retiring from his playing career, Wills returned to the baseball arena as a manager for the Seattle Mariners in 1980-1981.