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Rusty Staubb Dies at 73


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Rusty Staub, a beloved icon of both the New York Mets and Montreal Expos franchises, died early Thursday morning at the age of 73.

The Mets confirmed his death on Twitter.

"(Rusty) was almost as well known for his philanthropic work as he was for his career as a baseball player," the Mets wrote in a statement. "There wasn't a cause he didn't champion.

"He will be missed by everyone."

Staub, who would have turned 74 on Sunday, had been hospitalized earlier this month due to kidney failure. He had struggled with health problems in recent years, including a heart attack during a 2015 flight.

A six-time All-Star, Staub compiled a .279/.362/.431 career slash line with 2,716 hits, 499 doubles, and 292 home runs over his 23-year career with five teams. Though he also spent six seasons with the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and four as a designated hitter with the Detroit Tigers, it's in Queens and Quebec where Staub remains a unique baseball icon.

The New Orleans native was dealt from the Astros to the expansion Expos in 1969 and quickly became Montreal's first baseball star. An All-Star during each of his first three seasons with the Expos, he became beloved in the city after making an effort to learn French, and the redheaded Staub was affectionately dubbed "Le Grand Orange" by the Expos faithful, a second nickname (after "Rusty") that would stick for life.

"I was in Quebec - I couldn't talk to a child," Staub told Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette during an interview six years ago. "I couldn't say something encouraging. I felt like I was not doing my job - not being able to respond to the media at least in some basic form.

"There's not a question that my making that effort (to speak French) is part of the reason that whatever Le Grand Orange represented to Montreal and all those fans, they knew I cared and I tried."

So beloved was Staub in Montreal that when he was re-acquired by the Expos during the 1979 season, fans welcomed him back to Olympic Stadium with a five-minute standing ovation before his first at-bat.

The Expos traded Staub to the Mets in 1972 and he quickly became just as beloved by their fans. He was a critical member of the surprising 1973 pennant-winning squad and hit .423 in the seven-game World Series loss against Oakland. Staub played a total of nine seasons with the Mets across two separate stints, first from 1972-75, and again for the final four years of his career from 1981-85, where he served as a pinch-hitting specialist.

The only player in history to record at least 500 hits with four different teams (Astros, Expos, Tigers, and Mets), Staub came up to the majors with the then-Houston Colt .45s in 1963, playing in 150 games as a 19-year-old rookie. He'd go on to make two All-Star games as an Astro and led the majors with 44 doubles in 1967 before moving to Montreal. Later, he was a valuable DH with the Tigers, where he was an All-Star in 1976, finished fifth in AL MVP voting in '77, and won DH of the Year honors in '78. He also spent one season in Texas.

Staub's No. 10 was the first to ever be retired by the Expos in 1993 (they'd later retire it again for Andre Dawson), and before the franchise moved to Washington, he was an inaugural member of their Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Mets Hall of Fame in 1986, the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

As the Mets' statement reflects, Staub was also well known for his charity work, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support families of 9/11 first responders, and also ran his own Rusty Staub Foundation.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/news/rusty-staub-beloved-mets-and-expos-icon-dies-at-73/ar-AAvfhIv?li=AAadgLE&ocid=spartanntp

The loss of a great player and a great man in his own right. 

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8 minutes ago, chon derry said:

all my sports hero's as a kid were hockey players with the exception of rusty staub and gary carter R.I.P    MR. STAUB.

Ditto.  Once we got the Expos, Staub quickly became my favourite Ball Player too.  All class.

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43 minutes ago, redhdlois said:

Did he used to play for the Vancouver Mounties in the 60's  ?  Or am I thinking of someone else ?

I think you must be thinking of someone else. I don't recall him ever playing with the Mounties and he made the major leagues at a very, very young age so I think it doubtful that you would have seen him with the Mounties.

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1 hour ago, chon derry said:

all my sports hero's as a kid were hockey players with the exception of rusty staub and gary carter R.I.P    MR. STAUB.

I was a huge hockey and baseball fan as a kid. I was a Milwaukee Braves fan when they won the World Series in 1957 with Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Wes Covington being my childhood idols. Twenty years after that World Series I was playing in a fastball tournament in the Edmonton area and this afro-american player on one opposing team was just killing us with his power, just an amazing hitter. After the game doing the handshake I noticed that this guy had a huge ring and on closer look it was a World Series ring, a 1957 World Series ring. Turns out it was Wes Covington who was now living in the area and working for the Edmonton Sun. I have no idea how a former big league player from North Carolina ended up in Edmonton but I will always precious the few minutes I got to talk to him that day. He died a few years ago still in Edmonton.

 

Rusty Staub was one of my Expo favorites and I always remember him as an extra base hitting machine as well as one of the good guys of the game. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends. RIP Mr. Staub and may you find your Field of Dreams.

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15 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

I was a huge hockey and baseball fan as a kid. I was a Milwaukee Braves fan when they won the World Series in 1957 with Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Wes Covington being my childhood idols. Twenty years after that World Series I was playing in a fastball tournament in the Edmonton area and this afro-american player on one opposing team was just killing us with his power, just an amazing hitter. After the game doing the handshake I noticed that this guy had a huge ring and on closer look it was a World Series ring, a 1957 World Series ring. Turns out it was Wes Covington who was now living in the area and working for the Edmonton Sun. I have no idea how a former big league player from North Carolina ended up in Edmonton but I will always precious the few minutes I got to talk to him that day. He died a few years ago still in Edmonton.

 

Rusty Staub was one of my Expo favorites and I always remember him as an extra base hitting machine as well as one of the good guys of the game. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends. RIP Mr. Staub and may you find your Field of Dreams.

Didn’t the Esks, back in the day, have a player named Grover Covington?  I wonder if there is a connection?

Loved Rusty Staub.  I remember his Popeye like forearms. 

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5 minutes ago, chon derry said:

@Rick Blight I loved  the expo's  even thou they never had the success the j's had it was exciting  times for baseball in Canada  kinda liked the A'S as well rollie fingers catfish hunter , REGGIE .

Chon, I don;t know if you ever lived in the Vancouver area when the Mounties played at Capilano Stadium but that was great baseball back in those days watching players like Brooks Robinson, Ron Hansen, etc. Capilano Stadium was one of the absolute best minor league stadiums and a great place to watch a game. I still recall the great crowds  when they had a rope out in the outfield with seats between the rope and the wall....great fan participation.

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6 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Didn’t the Esks, back in the day, have a player named Grover Covington?  I wonder if there is a connection?

Loved Rusty Staub.  I remember his Popeye like forearms. 

I don't think Grover ever played with the Esks, Alf. I thought he only played with Hamilton. Just looked him up......played with Montreal and Hamilton only. Interestingly though he was from North Carolina as well so maybe there was some connection.

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9 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

Chon, I don;t know if you ever lived in the Vancouver area when the Mounties played at Capilano Stadium but that was great baseball back in those days watching players like Brooks Robinson, Ron Hansen, etc. Capilano Stadium was one of the absolute best minor league stadiums and a great place to watch a game. I still recall the great crowds  when they had a rope out in the outfield with seats between the rope and the wall....great fan participation.

 I lived there in 79 and again in 88 ,following baseball was limited to the early to mid 70s and then hockey took over ,my best friends older brother who coached me in minor baseball probably could have pursued baseball ,he pitched for UBC  and played basket ball for ubc as well, he's still the coach of the rainmakers here in PR. both bill my buddie and his brother mel both played pro basketball in England for crystal palace  but mel could have done something in baseball.

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12 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

Chon, I don;t know if you ever lived in the Vancouver area when the Mounties played at Capilano Stadium but that was great baseball back in those days watching players like Brooks Robinson, Ron Hansen, etc. Capilano Stadium was one of the absolute best minor league stadiums and a great place to watch a game. I still recall the great crowds  when they had a rope out in the outfield with seats between the rope and the wall....great fan participation.

my good buddie @smithers joe is the walking baseball encyclopedia ,he'll show up here since we follow each other.:P

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20 minutes ago, chon derry said:

@Rick Blight I loved  the expo's  even thou they never had the success the j's had it was exciting  times for baseball in Canada  kinda liked the A'S as well rollie fingers catfish hunter , REGGIE .

Did the Mounties being a farm team of the A's for a period of time influence being a fan? Sal Bando was a former Mountie, same with Tony LaRussa and Blue Moon Odom.

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Just now, Rick Blight said:

Did the Mounties being a farm team of the A's for a period of time influence being a fan? Sal Bando was a former Mountie, same with Tony LaRussa and Blue Moon Odom.

oddly enough it was their uniforms which looked like my own lions club uni  I played farm division,  bronco and pony league for the lions pretty fickle A'S fan ...

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2 minutes ago, chon derry said:

oddly enough it was their uniforms which looked like my own lions club uni  I played farm division,  bronco and pony league for the lions pretty fickle A'S fan ...

minor baseball fizzled out here for whatever reason ,but I see their doing work on the old minor  baseball field here and I hear that minor baseball is firing up again after 30 years gone, in an attempt to clean up the streets and keep kids busy and out of trouble.

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1 minute ago, chon derry said:

minor baseball fizzled out here for whatever reason ,but I see their doing work on the old minor  baseball field here and I hear that minor baseball is firing up again after 30 years gone, in an attempt to clean up the streets and keep kids busy and out of trouble.

That's great      really a good thing for the kids. I saw a couple of kids walking down the street here last summer with baseball gloves and tossing around a ball. First time I have seen that in quite some time.....

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