Bill ‘Moose’ Skowron is introduced during the New York Yankees 64th Old-Timer’s Day before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 17, 2010 at Yankee Stadium. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
(CBS) Bill “Moose” Skowron, who played for the White Sox from 1964-67 and served as a team ambassador since 1999, passed away Friday morning at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights from congestive heart failure.
The five-time World Series champion was battling lung cancer over the past year. He was 81.
“We all have lost a dear, dear friend today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “While Moose may have become a star in New York with the Yankees, he was a Chicagoan through and through. I certainly will miss his priceless stories about Casey Stengel, Roger Maris, Hank Bauer and of course, his good friend, Mickey Mantle. A few years ago, we started a tradition of holding monthly lunches here at the ballpark, and the laughter and conversation always centered around Moose. My guess is that right now Mickey, Roger, Hank and Moose are enjoying a good laugh together.”
Skowron is best known for winning four World Series titles with the New York Yankees during a nine year tenure with the team from 1954-62. In 1963 he moved on to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he won his last World Series. In 1964 he went to the Washington Senators before joining his hometown White Sox from 1964-67. Skowron finished his career with the Angels in 1967.
In 1999, Skowron joined the White Sox as a team ambassador, speaking at events, making appearances and greeting fans on behalf of the team. He made frequent appearances in the White Sox radio booth on 670 The Score, sharing numerous stories with Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson.
Skowron was born in 1930 on the North Side of Chicago. He attended Weber High School and went to Purdue on a football scholarship before concentrating on baseball.
