Oct 9, 2020 4 min read

Hall of Fame ace Ford dies at 91

During an era when the Yankees won the World Series so routinely it was joked that rooting for them was like rooting for General Motors, their ace pitcher owned the most fitting nickname: “The Chairman of the Board.”

Whitey Ford, the street-smart New Yorker who had the best winning percentage of any pitcher in the 20th century and helped the Yankees become baseball’s perennial champions in the 1950s and ’60s, died Thursday night. He was 91.

The team said Friday the Hall of Famer died at his Long Island home in Lake Success, New York, while watching the Yankees in a playoff game. His wife of 69 years, Joan, and family members were with him.

Ford had suffered from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in recent years. His death was the latest this year of a number of baseball greats – Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock and Bob Gibson.

On a franchise long defined by power hitters, Ford was considered its greatest starting pitcher. Not big and not overpowering, the wily left-hander played in the majors from 1950-67, all with the Yankees, and teamed with the likes of Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra to win six championships.

Ford’s 10 wins are still the most in World Series history.

Boys soccer

Eben McIntyre scored four goals and assisted on another as Charleroi remained undefeated with a 6-4 road win over Southmoreland on Thursday night. The win clinched at least a share of the Class 2A Section 3 title for the Cougars.

McIntyre and Dom Yocolano, who scored two goals, did all the scoring for the Cougars (10-0, 12-0). Arlo McIntyre had a pair of assists.

Wichita State investigating coach

Wichita State University is conducting an internal investigation into allegations that men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall mistreated players, the school and Marshall have confirmed.

Stadium, a multiplatform sports network, said the inquiry began after the university learned it was conducting an investigation in which it interviewed 36 players and former coaches.

Former Wichita State forward Shaq Morris told Stadium he was punched twice by Marshall, the school’s all-time winningest coach, during an October 2015 practice, and former guard Ty Taylor said he saw it happen.

They were the only players who agreed to be identified; the others said they feared retribution and community backlash because Marshall’s winning record has made him popular, Stadium reported.

“I love my teammates, the city and Wichita State,” said Morris, who played at Wichita State from 2014-18. “But if I could go back to that day when he punched me, I would have left.”

Taylor transferred to the University of North Carolina Wilmington after the 2015-16 season.

In the NFL

Jimmy Garoppolo will return as starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers this week after missing the past two games with a sprained ankle.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Garoppolo will start Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins. Shanahan wanted to see how Garoppolo made it through a full week of practice before making his decision.

“Each day he got better,” Shanahan said Friday. “Never felt too sore the next day. So, we needed to hear that today and see him out there today and we feel good to go.”

Garoppolo had hoped not to miss any time with the injury, having played through ankle sprains before. But this was a more severe high ankle sprain which made it impossible for him to move well enough to avoid danger in the pocket.

He was able to show he was healthy in practice and will provide a needed spark for the 49ers (2-2), who lost 25-20 at home last week to Philadelphia.