A Legend Dies

Everyone today will hear about how Christopher Reeve's widow died today of a rare type of Lung Cancer, after standing by her husband for so many years after he had his fall that left him paralyzed from the neck down.

But what you won't hear about is the other more famous person who died yesterday of a stroke, Kirby Puckett.

Kirby made it to the MLB the same year that I was born, 1984, and in his 22 year career he had 2 world series titles with the only team he ever played for, the Twins, 6 Golden Gloves, 10 trips to the All Star Game, and a career batting average of .318. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the age of 41, the third youngest to do so.

But then one morning in 1996, he woke up and was blind in one eye. It turned out that he had glaucoma. This morning, unfortunately Kirby didn't have the blessing of waking up this morning. He passed away from a stroke at the age of 45.

His Hall of Fame plaque adorns the Puckett smile that made him one of the most popular ball players of the 1980's.

Some quotes from Kirby:

"I was told I would never make it because I'm too short. Well, I'm still too short, but I've got 10 All-Star games, two World Series championships, and I'm a very happy and contented guy. It doesn't matter what your height is, it's what's in your heart."
"Don't take anything for granted, because tomorrow is not promised to any of us."