To be clear, I am not one who gets up on any morning and immediately runs to the obituaries to see who we’ve lost among family, friends or notables in our community or the world.
But as a longtime follower of the Orioles, I am not sure I have ever seen a spate of Orioles-related deaths such as what we have experienced since the very beginning of the 2024 baseball season, when longtime owner Peter Angelos and former club president and part owner Larry Lucchino passed away. Most recently, we lost longtime second baseman Rich Dauer on Feb. 3.
As the 2025 season gets underway, let’s never forget those who have helped shape the history of the Orioles.
Former Orioles owner Peter Angelos died in Towson on March 23, 2024, at the age of 94.
Outside of his ownership of the Orioles, Angelos is known largely for his work as a litigation attorney who won a massive haul in the asbestos class action suit. His personal wealth allowed him to lead the successful effort that saw his group purchase the Orioles out of the Eli Jacobs bankruptcy. The purchase price was a then-record $183 million.
Angelos had checkered success on the field, but his family sold the club and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for $1.725 billion. Peter and the Angelos family owned the club from August 1993 to Opening Day 2024.
Former Orioles president Larry Lucchino died in Brookline, Mass., on April 2, 2024, at the age of 78.
Like Angelos, Lucchino was born in Pittsburgh. He attended Princeton University for his undergraduate work and was a member of the same basketball team as the legendary Bill Bradley. While Lucchino had great success working as an attorney and protégé of former Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams, Lucchino gained his greatest financial rewards and recognition as a baseball executive.
When Williams passed away in 1988, he left Lucchino a small piece of the club and the right to broker the purchase to the next Orioles owner, who proved to be Eli Jacobs. In brokering the deal, Lucchino was able to add to his small ownership stake. It was his vision of an old-fashioned stadium with modern amenities that paved the way for a slew of such stadiums throughout MLB.
When Lucchino’s bid to buy the Orioles out of the Jacobs bankruptcy fell short, he left the club and used his grub stake and friendship with commissioner Bud Selig to redo what he had done in Baltimore — find a wealthy would-be owner in John Moores. This time around, Lucchino was not just president of the Padres but CEO. Lucchino’s lasting legacy in San Diego was his role in creating Petco Park.
Space constraints keep me from dwelling too long on his Boston chapter, but let’s just say history will always give him great credit in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series since 1918 in 2004. Lucchino has long deserved a spot in the Orioles Hall of Fame.
Former Orioles lefty Bud Daley died in Riverton, Wyo., on Oct. 15, 2024, at the age of 92.
Daley never pitched in a game for the Orioles. He was actually only a member of the organization from April 1, 1958, when he was traded by Cleveland along with Dick Williams and Gene Woodling for Larry Doby and Don Ferrarese, through April 17, when he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics for Arnie Portocarrero. So what’s Daley doing here?
After Daley toiled in Kansas City for three-plus seasons, the A’s traded him to the New York Yankees in 1961. Fast forward to June 11, 1962, and Daley was the starting pitcher for the Yankees. He was opposed by Orioles right-hander and future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.
Daley came in high and tight to Boog Powell and hit him in the temple, keeping Powell at a local hospital for four days. A couple innings later, Roberts threw a pitch high and behind Roger Maris’ head.
This was witnessed by this writer at the age of 10. Both managers came out ready for blood. Yankees manager Ralph Houk and Orioles skipper Billy Hitchcock had both served the country during World War II. The two went toe-to-toe for what seemed like five minutes. Nary a punch was thrown, but I believe Roberts was ejected from the game.
Powell told me a couple months ago that Daley visited him in the hospital to tell him he had not intentionally hit him. Ferrarese, the right-hander the O’s included in the deal to acquire Daley, passed away on Nov. 4.
Former Orioles lefty Rudy May died in Hertford, N.C., on Oct. 23, 2024, at the age of 80, while former Orioles outfielder Merv Rettenmund died in San Diego on Dec. 7, 2024, at the age of 81.
May was acquired in the famous 10-player trade with the Yankees in June 1976. That trade brought Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor, Dave Pagan and May to the O’s for Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, Grant Jackson, Jimmy Freeman and Doyle Alexander.
May spent part of 1976 and the entirety of 1977 with the O’s, posting a 27-21 mark. The following offseason, May was sent to the Expos along with Randy Miller and Bryn Smith for Joe Kerrigan, Gary Roenicke and Don Stanhouse.
Rettenmund originally signed with the O’s in 1964 and played parts of six seasons for the O’s from 1968-1973, including three consecutive pennant-winning seasons. He won World Series rings with the O’s and the Reds as a player and with the A’s as their hitting coach in 1989. After a 13-season run as a big league player, he was a hitting coach for five teams across a 25-year period.
Former Orioles second baseman Rich Dauer died in Cincinnati on Feb. 3, 2025, at the age of 72.
Dauer played his entire 10-year major league career in Baltimore. He was a member of the last Orioles team to win a World Series in 1983 and was beloved by his teammates. While he was not a special offensive player, he turned himself into one of the steadiest second basemen in club history.
It was always curious that the Orioles Hall of Famer never wore an O’s uniform during his 18-year coaching career. He was a minor league skipper for teams in the Seattle and San Diego organizations and a major league coach with Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Colorado and then with Houston during the Astros’ 2017 world championship season.
It was the day of the Astros’ World Series parade when Dauer suffered the first of two catastrophic health issues. He had to be rushed to the hospital as the parade was taking place and had emergency surgery on a blood clot in his brain.
He never regained full health again, suffering a significant stroke in 2023. His wife Chris stayed by his side. She and Dauer relocated to Cincinnati so he could be at a facility to rehab from his stroke. His loss was deeply felt in Birdland.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles
Issue 291: February / March 2025
Originally published Feb. 19, 2025