Popular former Detroit Tigers player in the early eighties, was well loved by the fans.
http://www.freep.com/article/2012101...y-cancer-at-66
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Popular former Detroit Tigers player in the early eighties, was well loved by the fans.
http://www.freep.com/article/2012101...y-cancer-at-66
Tigers had a lot of players who quickly became fan favorites for a couple of years in the 70's - Ron Leflore, Steve Kemp, Jason "rooftop" Thompson, the Bird, etc.
I guess when the team sucks you really latch on to a certain player who makes it worthwhile to come to the park. Champ was one of those guys.
I too, was a big fan of Champ. I remember him either leaving or being traded prior to the 84 season, where he ended up playing for the Padres. I recall him sitting on the steps of the visiting dugout at Tiger stadium, watching his former teammates celebrate their World Series win with a forlorned look on his face.Quote:
Originally Posted by 401don
A good man.......May God Bless his soul
Champ was champ with me too. He came out of nowhere and lit up the place for a while then flickered and was gone.
No disrespect to him but my main memory of him was playing right field in front of me. [I always sat in the lower right field bleachers directly behind the right fielder - best dollar for view ever.]
He had a line drive hit directly at him and blew it. The next batter up hit an identical line drive directly at him and he blew it again.
I swear I could almost see him trembling in fear of having another one come his way. Being in the perfect line to see the ball and knowing the tendency of the to knuckle, they are not as easy as they appear. So I was really feeling bad for him and also hoping another one didn't come his way.