4-Time All-Star Cubs Infielder Glenn Beckert Dies At 79

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Glenn Beckert, a four-time All-Star second baseman for the Cubs in the 1960s and '70s, died Sunday.

He was 79.

Citing his family, the Cubs said he died of natural causes in Florida.

"The Chicago Cubs are saddened to learn of the death of former infielder Glenn Beckert. Beckert was a gold glove winner and four-time All-Star in his nine seasons with the Cubs," the Cubs tweeted.

Playing alongside Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and Ferguson Jenkins, Beckert won a Gold Glove in 1968 and made four straight All-Star teams for the Cubs starting in 1969. He had the best strikeout-to-at-bat ratio in the National League five times and finished third in average when he hit a career-high .342 in 1971.

The 1969 team that included Beckert was famously one of heartbreak – as a successful winning team collapsed and ended up falling to the New York Mets. The 1969 Cubs were still a sore spot for fans when the Cubs won the National League Eastern Division Title in 1984 – and made the postseason for the first time since losing the World Series in 1945.

The night the Cubs clinched the division in 1984, CBS 2 reporter Bob Sirott talked with Beckert and fellow 1969 Cub Randy Hundley about their experiences 15 years earlier. The venue was an empty Wrigley Field.

"I tell you – we played with the team, Bob, loved each other – we fell short," Beckert told Sirott. "We entertained for five months. This team's going to entertain for six and a half."

But it would be another 32 years after that night until the Cubs actually won the World Series. The manager who led the Cubs to that so-long-awaited victory, Joe Maddon, eulogized Beckert on Twitter Sunday.

"My condolences to the Beckert Family....Glenn was a part of my Adopt-a-Legend Program with the Rays in Port Charlotte....so proud of his minimal strikeouts..we spoke about that often...an all time Cub great ....a Gentleman and friend..." Maddon tweeted.

Onetime teammate Jenkins also honored Beckert on Twitter.

"We lost a great one today, Glenn Beckert. Glenn was My friend, my @Cubs teammate, and the best man at my wedding. He will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with the Beckert family," Jenkins wrote.

Beckert batted .283 in 11 seasons with Chicago (1965-73) and the San Diego Padres (1974-75).

He is survived by daughters Tracy Seaman and Dana Starck and longtime partner Marybruce Standley.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)