Giants great Gaylord Perry, Hall of Famer and master of the spitball, dies at 84
Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry, a master of the spitball, died Thursday. He was 84.
Perry died at his home in Gaffney, South Carolina at about 5 a.m. Thursday of natural causes, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said. He did not provide additional details.
Perry pitched for the San Francisco Giants and seven other major-league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40.
Perry was a five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991. He earned his first All-Star selection with the Giants in 1966, going 21-8 with 2.99 ERA over 255 2/3 innings for the Giants.
On September 17, 1968, Perry struck out nine batters en route to a no-hitter over the St. Louis Cardinals at Candlestick Park.
Perry remained a fan favorite in San Francisco after his retirement and was a frequent participant in Giants alumni events. He is among the Giants greats immortalized with a statue outside Oracle Park in San Francisco.
He had a career record of 314-255, finished with 3,554 strikeouts, and used a pitching style where he doctored baseballs or made batters believe he was doctoring them. His 1974 autobiography was titled "Me and the Spitter."
After his career, Perry founded the baseball program at Limestone College in Gaffney and was its coach for the first three years.
