Jerry Coleman obit

He was not on the list

Jerry Coleman, 89, former Yankee, broadcaster

Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman, a former second baseman for the New York Yankees who interrupted his pro career to fly as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and Korea, died Sunday after a brief illness, the San Diego Padres said. He was 89.

Mr. Coleman spent more than four decades with the Padres as a broadcaster, and managed them in 1980.
Padres president Mike Dee said Mr. Coleman died at a hospital Sunday afternoon. He said the team was notified by Mr. Coleman’s wife, Maggie.
A family friend said Sunday night that Mr. Coleman had surgery before Christmas for bleeding in the brain. Doctors discovered more bleeding last week and Mr. Coleman had more surgery, said the friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.

‘‘It’s a sad day,’’ Padres manager Bud Black said. ‘‘We’re losing a San Diego icon. He’s going to be missed.’’ The Padres planned to keep Mr. Coleman’s statue at Petco Park open late on Sunday night so fans could pay tribute. The team unveiled the statue in September 2012.
While recounting his military career in an interview days before the statue was unveiled, Mr. Coleman said: ‘‘Your country is bigger than baseball.’’
Mr. Coleman spent more than 70 years in pro baseball, a career that included four World Series titles with the Yankees and was interrupted by World War II and the Korean War, when he served as a Marine Corps pilot.
He flew 120 missions combined in the two wars. Coleman was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 13 Air Medals and three Navy Citations.
Around Petco Park and on Padres radio broadcasts, Mr. Coleman was known as ‘‘The Colonel,’’ having retired from the Marines with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the only major leaguer to see combat in two wars.
Mr. Coleman was known for calls of ‘‘Oh, Doctor!’’ and ‘‘You can hang a star on that!’’ after big plays. He received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
‘‘If there was any place Jerry Coleman could be Jerry Coleman, it would be San Diego, with this being a military town and with his military background,’’ Dee said. ‘‘The symmetry between his life and this community transcended the Padres. San Diego was Jerry and Jerry was San Diego.’’
After graduating from high school in 1942, Mr. Coleman reported to the New York Yankees’ Class D affiliate.
Still 17, he was too young to enlist and fight in World War II, so he got to spend the summer playing ball. In the military, he flew Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers in the Pacific in World War II. He played three more seasons of minor league ball before making his big league debut with the Yankees in 1949. He was the AP Rookie of the Year that season.
His best season was 1950, when he was an All-Star and MVP of the Yankees’ four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Among his teammates were Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Johnny Mize.