Ed Ott, the former MLB catcher who won the World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979, has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 72 years old.
The Pirates announced that Ott was killed in Danville, Pennsylvania. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
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Pittsburgh Pirates catcher #14 Ed Ott comes to bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore during the 1979 World Series. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a beloved member of the Pirates family,” Pirates President Travis Williams said in a news release. “Ed spent seven of his eight years in the major leagues with the Pirates and was a valued member of the 1979 World Series championship team.
“I had the pleasure of meeting former teammate Kent Tekub last summer when I was in Pittsburgh to support his former teammate at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Sue, daughter Michelle, and the entire Ott family.”
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Ed Ott, No. 14 of the Pittsburgh Pirates, plays against the Baltimore Orioles during the 1979 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, circa October 1979. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
The Pirates selected Ott in the 23rd round of the 1970 draft out of Muncie High School, Pennsylvania. He debuted in the 1974 season and returned in 1975, but played in only 12 games in the majors over those two seasons.
It wasn’t until the 1977 season that he began to receive serious playing time. He played in 117 games with the Pirates in 1979, batting .273 with seven home runs and a .699 OPS. He went 4-for-12 with three RBIs in the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Pirates outscored the Orioles in seven games.
He played one more season with Pittsburgh in 1980 and spent one season with the California Angels last year.
On October 11, 1979, in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the World Series in Baltimore, Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 14 Ed Ott crossed home just out of reach of Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey and scored the winning run. I decided. (AP photo, file)
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He served as a minor league coach in the Angles, Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds organizations before becoming a major league coach with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
