Vukovich passes; Phillies to honor him on uniforms

The longtime coach and former player, 59, died early this morning from complications arising from treatment. The Phillies have announced they will wear a black patch with 'Vuk' on their jerseys through the 2007 season.

Vukovich spent 31 years as a member of the Phillies organization and was the longest-tenured coach in team history. He was originally selected by the Phillies in the 1966 draft and played parts of seven seasons with the club, including the 1980 world champs.

Comments

[JZ]

From phillies.com: He and Larry Bowa are the only two men to wear a Phillies uniform at Connie Mack Stadium, Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park.

Wow.

[joe l]

*tips hat* Vuk will be missed. :(

[Michael Milici]

R.I.P. Vuk

He'll surely be missed.

[kdon]

Very sad, from all accounts he was a great man. The game needs more like him.

RIP Vuke

[GM-Carson]

Vuk kicked ass. I was upset when he wasn't retained as 3rd base coach...he always had that fire. He'll be missed for sure.

[Rich]

It's always sad when a ballplayer from your childhood days passes away, especially someone associated with the team for so long. My condolences to his family.

[Josh M]

Thanks for the 31 years of service with the Phillies, Vuk!

[chris]

This is very upsetting for everyone.

[Tim]

this is terrible. my thoughts are with him and his family.

[RickSchuBlues]

A cruel blow which no one saw coming. The Phillies have lost one of the best 'baseball men' in the business. And what a shame the man never had the opportunity to manage.

[ROA]

My condolences to his family, I hope he didn't suffer too much. He was a great man and a great Phillie.

[D. Patrone]

He was a baseball lifer who'll surely be missed. What a great person to be with the Phils for so long. RIP Vuk!

[That Dude]

Joe that was a good one.... to the sky

[Alby]

Carson: He had more than just fire. I never realized what a good 3B coach he was until we got stuck with -- jeez, I already forget his name. It was good to see Vuke beat this for so long before its return. He will be missed. And when we choose the all-time Phillies team by position, I'm putting him in the 3B coaching box (for his backup I'm going with Peanuts Lowery).

[Rich]

Nice tribute by Jason Stark on espn.com.

[Deanna]

oh gosh, that's very sad. I don't even know what to say. Poor guy.

[MikeyBloom]

This is a very sad day. I feel like someone just punched me in the gut. Just like when we lost Whitey and Tug. If anyone is interested, Vuk is on the list of nominees for the Wall of Fame this year and I gotta tell ya none of the eligible players have had as much of an impact on the history of the team as the nominated coaches. So, here is my ballot for 2007
1. John Vukovich
2. Gene Mauch
3. Mike Ryan

[IUP Philly Fan]

This is so sad. I am glad the Phillies are going to honor Vuk this year. Almost all of my Phillies memories involve seeing Vuk in some capacity, be it as 3rd base coach or taking the line up card out for Larry Bowa.

He will be missed by the Phillies family and fan base alike.

RIP Vuk.

[The Iron Pig]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Vukovich family.

[voice of reason]

While watching the Phils take BP in Olympic Stadium during a trip to Montreal in 2004, my then 6-yr-old was being jostled around by the older and larger local kids during the crush to get an autograph or a ball.
When Vuke saw him wearing a Phils tee and baseball cap, he walked over and personally handed him a ball.

Vuke was a real Philly guy.
We will miss him.

[Lake Fred]

Great story VOR, Vuke will be missed. It's very sad.

[Casey]

.