Walt Dropo, ex-Red Sox star, dies at 87

Walt Dropo could have played football for the Chicago Bears. He could have played professional basketball as the NBA was getting started. Instead, he applied his massive frame and remarkable quickness to baseball, and had a rookie year with the Red Sox that few have ever approached.

Dropo, then 27, hit .322 with 34 home runs and 144 RBIs in 136 games, leading the league in RBIs and total bases (326). "You only dream of a year like my first one," he said in 1999 when he was selected one of Connecticut's Athletes of the Century.

Dropo, the 1950 American League Rookie of the Year with the Red Sox, died Friday night at 87 at his Boston-area home.

"I'm going to miss Walter very much," said Johnny Pesky, Dropo's teammate with the Red Sox and Tigers in the 1950s. "He was an easygoing guy, very popular with his teammates."

Dropo played college basketball at Connecticut, and his career scoring average of 20.2 points is second all-time in UConn history. He was drafted by Providence of the Basketball Association of America, forerunner of the NBA. A tight end, Dropo also was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1946.

But he signed with the Red Sox in 1947, a big righthanded batter perfectly fit for Fenway Park. He made it to the big leagues for 11 games in 1949 and came up to stay in 1950, hitting his first major-league home run off Bob Feller (who also passed away last week).

Dropo fractured his right wrist in 1951 and never approached the numbers of his rookie season during the rest of his 13-year career. On June 3, 1952, Dropo and Pesky were traded to Detroit. On July 14, Dropo went 5-for-5 at Yankee Stadium. He went on to get 12 consecutive hits, tying a major-league record.

Dropo later played for the White Sox, Reds and Orioles, finishing with a .270 career average and 152 home runs.

Bosox sign reliever Wheeler

The Red Sox have signed righthander Dan Wheeler to a one-year, $3-million contract with a club option for 2012. It guarantees him another $3 million if he appears in 65 games in 2011, and $3.25 million if he reaches 70 appearances.

The 33-year-old was 2-4 with a 3.35 ERA and three saves in 64 games for Tampa Bay last season. - AP