Billy Loes, 1950s Dodgers pitcher, dead at 80

LOS ANGELES - Billy Loes, who pitched on three pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers teams in the 1950s and was an AL All-Star in 1957, has died. He was 80.

Loes died July 15 at a hospice in Tucson, Ariz., his wife, Irene, confirmed on Friday from her home in Chapel Hill, N.C. He had diabetes for several years and had open heart surgery a few years ago, she said.

A righthander from Queens, Loes pitched for the Dodgers (1950, 1952-56), Baltimore Orioles (1956-59) and San Francisco Giants (1960-61). He had an 80-63 record with 645 strikeouts and a 3.89 ERA during his 11-year career.

His best season was in 1953, when he went 14-8 to help the Dodgers win the pennant.

Loes once said he didn't want to be a 20-game winner, "because then I'd be expected to do it every year." He started Game 6 of the 1952 World Series for the Dodgers against the Yankees at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers led 1-0 in the seventh inning when Loes gave up a home run to Yogi Berra and a single by Gene Woodling.

Then Loes balked by letting the baseball slip from his hand while he was on the pitching rubber, sending Woodling to second base. With two out, Vic Raschi, the Yankees' starting pitcher, hit a ball off Loes's leg, and it caromed into rightfield for a single, scoring Woodling. The Yankees went on to a 3-2 victory, tying the series at three games apiece. New York won the World Series the next day.

Born William Loes on Dec. 13, 1929, he made his debut with the Dodgers in 1950, then rejoined them in 1952 after serving in the Army.

The Loes had no children. Irene Loes said the couple had been separated 19 years but never divorced. - AP