How ironic! I heard of the death of baseball great and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn on the day that my grandmother was celebrating her 104th birthday! Gwynn died at the age of 54...that is 50 years difference! If only Tony knew about the dangers of tobacco use. If only someone would have talked about it...wait, they do talk about it...in Spring Training.
When I was a boy, growing up in suburban Detroit in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a player on the Tigers by the name of Bill Tuttle. He was a pretty unassuming player (a career .259 hitter in 11 seasons), but it was what happened to him AFTER his career that got coverage.
Tuttle was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw and he wound up having the lower half of his jaw removed (pretty much like Roger Ebert). He spent the rest of his life traveling to Spring Training sites talking to young players about the danger of tobacco use (Tuttle died when he was 69...how ironic that his Zodiac sign was "Cancer!).
As a school counselor, I talk to elementary students about the dangers of tobacco use of ANY kind. Never mind the cost of buying tobacco (I told the kids that if they put the money that they would spend on tobacco aside, they could probably buy a nice used car in five years!).
I hope the passing of Tony Gwynn will be a reminder to all current and future ball players: DO NOT use tobacco in ANY form...EVER!
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