The Detroit Tigers are mourning the passing of one of their all-time greatest backstops.
Catcher Bill Freehan, who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with his hometown team, died Thursday morning in Detroit. He was 79. Freehan had Alzheimer's Disease and had been experiencing severe dementia since at least 2018 when the Detroit Free Press ran a feature story on him entering hospice care.
"An all-time great Tiger, the Olde English ‘D’ was the only logo he wore over his 15-year Major League career, during which he was named to 11 All-Star teams, won five-straight Gold Glove awards and played a key role on the 1968 World Series Championship team," said the Tigers in a statement. "Off the diamond, Freehan made a positive impact in the southeast Michigan community, including as a player and then coach at the University of Michigan, where he changed the lives of many for the better."
Freehan's friend and teammate, Willie Horton, recalled the catcher's strong connection with the area where they both grew up.
"Bill Freehan was one of the greatest men I’d ever played alongside, or had the pleasure of knowing," said Horton. "I’ll always cherish our childhood memories together and our journey from sandlot baseball to Tiger Stadium. His entire Major League career was committed to the Tigers and the city of Detroit, and he was one of the most respected and talented members of the organization through some difficult yet important times throughout the 1960s and '70s."
Born in Detroit in 1941, Freehan played baseball and football at the University of Michigan, setting an all-time Big Ten batting average of .585 in 1961. That same year, he signed with the Tigers for a $100,000 bonus and joined the big-league squad full-time in 1963. Through his retirement in 1976, Freehan had a career batting average of .262, hit 200 home runs, and batted in 758 runs.
Freehan is best known for a clutch play in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series, played at Tiger Stadium. With the St. Louis Cardinals a win away from the title and leading Game 5 in the fifth inning, Julian Javier hit a single into left field. Horton played the ball on the hop and threw it to home plate to catch Lou Brock, who was coming in for a slide. Freehan caught the ball and blocked the plate, keeping Brock from scoring. That play is believed to be the turning point for the Tigers in the Series. They won Game 5, then the next two in St. Louis to win the championship.
After retiring, Freehan did colour commentary in the Seattle Mariners broadcast booth, then returned to Detroit as a cable TV analyst for Tiger games in 1984 and 1985. He returned to U-M and coached its baseball team from 1989 to 1995.
Freehan is survived by his wife of 58 years, Pat. They had three children and several grandchildren, according to the Free Press.