Ralph Houk dies at 90

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  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Ralph Houk, who guided the powerhouse New York Yankees of the early 1960s to two World Series championships during his 20 years as a big league manager, died Wednesday. He was 90.

    Houk also skippered the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox in a managerial career that spanned three decades.

    Red Sox spokesman Dick Bresciani said Houk's grandson, Scott Slaboden, told the team Houk died at his home in Winter Haven, Fla. Slaboden, who lives in the Boston area, wrote in an e-mail to the team that Houk "died peacefully of natural causes after having a brief illness."

    Before reaching the big leagues with the Yankees in 1947, Houk served in the Army in World War II and rose to the rank of major -- a moniker that stuck even when he returned to baseball.

    Houk spent parts of eight seasons as a backup catcher for New York, appearing in just 91 games. Former Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek, who played for Houk in the minors and majors with New York, said Houk learned a lot about handling a pitching staff from working with Hall of Famer catchers Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey in the bullpen.

    "He had the Yankees' spirit, the Yankees' winning attitude," Kubek told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "He had all the qualities that make a special manager."

    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5399610
     

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