Losing his battle with cancer. One of the nicest people in professional sports.
Twins' Harmon Killebrew enters hospice care | StarTribune.com
Twins' Harmon Killebrew enters hospice care | StarTribune.com
MLB: Twins Fans..Harmon Killebrew entering hospice.
- Thread starter Dryburn
- Start date
Entering hospice is never a good thing. Usually means they're just trying to make someone as comfortable as possible as the end is inevitable. At least that's what happened with my grandfather when in his final days with his struggle with lung cancer.
God bless.
God bless.
I'm old enough to have been fortunate to have seen Killebrew play quite a few times. I grew up in northern Iowa, so we went to 15 to 20 Twins games a year.
What I remember about him (the impressions of a kid) was that he looked so massive in the batter's box. The width of his back and shoulders looked huge! His home runs were rarely the line drive type. They were usually the high fly ball that just kept going.
I remember my dad always getting a chuckle whenever Killebrew got a hit that was not a home run, or a walk. Killebrew was balding even as a young player, and he would very quickly exchange his batting helmet for his cap so the fans could not see how bald he was.
What I remember about him (the impressions of a kid) was that he looked so massive in the batter's box. The width of his back and shoulders looked huge! His home runs were rarely the line drive type. They were usually the high fly ball that just kept going.
I remember my dad always getting a chuckle whenever Killebrew got a hit that was not a home run, or a walk. Killebrew was balding even as a young player, and he would very quickly exchange his batting helmet for his cap so the fans could not see how bald he was.
No I remember those guys to.
I was at a signing here in Southern California about 3 years ago. Had my Twins garb on and was so excited to finally get to shake Harmon's hand. Most people were there for the financial value of the signature.
Got up to the table we talked briefly and then he told me to wait around. After the signing was officially over,
he spent about 15 minutes talking to me. We talked about NE Iowa where I grew up.
Talked about how I was able to watch him on channel 10 in Rochester.
He signed several things for me, took and couple of pictures, and then thanked me for
waiting around and talking to him. One of the nicest human beings I have ever met.
Shed a tear today thinking that he will be leaving us soon.
I grew up in the Mason City area, and after I got my driver's license, some friends and I made it a habit to go to several Twins games each summer.
At one game, in 1969, Killebrew's MVP season, 4 of us went to a game and decided to stick around after to see if we could get some autographs. This older man sitting near us during the game had told us to hang out at this one gate/door and that is where the players would come out. We went there, but then a worker who was putting away his novelty stand told us we were in the wrong place, and showed where the ramp was where the players would exit.
We went there and soon after here comes Harmon, Oliva, Jim Perry and Rich Reese. We were like the only ones still there. They all signed baseballs and programs for us, and I remember Harmon asking us which autograph we thought would be worth the most......his or Oliva's. He was very nice to us. He has been an excellent spokesman for the Twins, and will be missed.
Remember the targets in the outfield seats marking the spots for some of Harmon's homers?
I have been a Twins fan that used to listen to "HOLY COW" of Hallsey Hall. Now that dates me.
And Herb Carneal.....
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A vivid memory from my youth was going up to met stadium For "Harmon Killebrew Day" at the culmination of one of my little league seasons, probably 76-77. Big deal for me because up to that point I had never been to the "city"(Des Moines does not count). I think the Killebrew mysitque was one of the reasons why I became such a big Hrbek fan. Argueably the greatest Twin of all time.
Remember them well. Listening to Hallsey on the Twins games kept me going many hours riding a tractor doing field work when I was growing up.
The red/orange seats in left field at the old Met marked Killebrew's 520 foot home run, the longest ever hit by a Twins player. They still commemorate it at Mall of America I think. They have it marked there somehow. Plus, the golden glove statue at Target Field is 520 feet from home plate, if you ever visit.
In the amusement park part of Mall of America, they have a bronze home plate in the location of where home plate was located at the Met (as everyone knows, the Mall of America was built on top of the location of the Met). If you look out in the direction of where right-center field would be (you might have to walk around some of the rides and shops), you see a red-orange seat hanging on the wall. This is supposedly where Killebrew's 520-foot shot "landed".
In 1970, at the age of 7, we lived in a townhouse in St. Louis Park 2 doors down from Rod Carew. This was the summer he was out with a knee injury. Us kids would be outside all summer with Rod as he sat in his chair with his casted leg up and play catch with him. There were a few times when other Twins would come to visit him(Harmon, Tony Oliva,etc), and play catch with us as well. I remember one night Rod had a party and the entire night was us kids, one after another,in line at the front door for autographs,etc. Harmon must have stayed at the front door for a solid 2 hours:notworthy:.
Unfortunately, a lesson was learned that you don't let 7 and 5 year olds be in charge of memoribilia of future Hall of Famers, signed posters and programs got torn up, signed baseballs got used and lost. Oh, what regrets 40 years later:sad:.
My thoughts are with Harmon, and thanks for the best memories of my youth:notworthy::notworthy:.
Unfortunately, a lesson was learned that you don't let 7 and 5 year olds be in charge of memoribilia of future Hall of Famers, signed posters and programs got torn up, signed baseballs got used and lost. Oh, what regrets 40 years later:sad:.
My thoughts are with Harmon, and thanks for the best memories of my youth:notworthy::notworthy:.
There are not many sports stars I'd shed a tear for, but Harmon Killebrew is one of them. The Twins were the only baseball team I watched and no one was more fun to watch that Harmon. I got to see the Twins take on the Yankees and saw Mantle hit one of his last home runs but nothing was more special than seeing Killebrew launch one, sometimes from one knee!
Great player, great man...will be greatly missed.
