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Two
weeks ago, he was scheduled to travel to Alabama for
a ceremony at 95-year-old Rickwood Field, where he played
for the Birmingham Black Barons in the mid-1940s, but
fell ill and was hospitalized in Chicago.
"Double
Duty shared such a love for baseball and a passion for
life," White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. "We
all loved to see him at the ballpark, listen to his
stories and share in his laughter. He leaves such a
great legacy after experiencing so much history and
change during his long life. He will be missed by all
of us with the White Sox."
In
May, Radcliffe was among 14 Negro Leagues players honored
in a pregame ceremony at RFK Stadium before the Chicago
Cubs played Washington. Sitting in a golf cart behind
the plate, Radcliffe made the ceremonial first pitch
by handing the ball to Nationals coach Don Buford.
Radcliffe
noted that the game had changed since he retired in
the 1950s.
"It
ain't like it used to be. There used to be some good
pitchers. There aren't ballplayers like there used to
be. It's a shame," he said.
A
six-time All-Star - fittingly, three times as a pitcher
and three times as a catcher - Radcliffe outlived his
contemporaries in the Negro Leagues and players from
his era in the majors. Strict records on the minor leagues
from those days are not kept, but there are no players
known to have been older than Radcliffe.
As
he approached his 100th birthday, Radcliffe was living
in a retirement center about a half-mile from Comiskey
Park. His apartment was filled with bats, gloves, plaques,
posters, and his easy chair sat next to a window facing
a sandlot.
Radcliffe
was raised in Mobile, Ala., and went on to play for
more than 15 teams in the Negro Leagues from the late
1920s to the early 1950s. His brother, Alex, also played
in the league.
Radcliffe
roomed with Jackie Robinson with the Kansas City Monarchs
in 1945, two years before Robinson broke baseball's
color barrier in the majors, and also managed in the
Negro Leagues.
At
age 96, Radcliffe returned to the field, throwing one
pitch for the Schaumburg Flyers in an independent Northern
League game.
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