R.I.P. Wes Covington

[Writehooks]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, but here it is ...

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By Murray Greig
Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON ‹ Wes Covington, a minor league call-up who sparked the 1957
Milwaukee Braves down the stretch and helped them win the World Series, died
of cancer in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday.
He was 79.
A left fielder from Laurinburg, N.C., Covington belted 21 homers and drove
in 65 runs in 96 games over the second half of the ¹57 season.
His inspired play continued in the Series against the Yankees, highlighted
by two defensive gems that helped preserve wins for Lew Burdette.
In Game 2, Covington pulled off an improbable backhanded stab to take an
extra-base hit away from Bobby Shantz, and in Game 5 he crashed into the
fence to steal a homer from Gil McDougald.
From 1956-61, Covington averaged .280 for the Braves, with 62 homers and 235
RBI.
After brief American League stops in Chicago and Kansas City, he returned to
the senior circuit with Philadelphia, becoming one of the Phils¹ most
dangerous hitters (.303 in Œ63), before finishing his career with the 1966
L.A. Dodgers.
After wrapping up his baseball career, Covington moved to Western Canada and
operated a sporting goods business. He later became an advertising manager
for the Edmonton Sun newspaper, a position he held for nearly 20 years.
When the Edmonton Trappers joined the Pacific Coast League in the early
1980s, Covington returned to baseball as a promotions consultant and special
ambassador for the club.
In addition to his duties with the Sun, he was involved in youth charity
work in the Alberta capital.
In 2003, at the invitation of the Braves Historical Association, Covington
returned to Milwaukee for the first time in 40 years. The good-natured but
reclusive 72-year-old thanked the fans who showed up for a testimonial
dinner, and took a stab at explaining his reticence.
³People ask me ŒWhy haven¹t you gone back to Milwaukee?¹ and ŒWhy haven¹t
you done more in the game?,¹ but it¹s nothing against the city or the great
fans,² he said.
³I just had other things I wanted to do with my life. My playing career is
in the past; I always try to focus on the future. In order to do that, I had
to be away from a major league city, away from the hype.
³I didn¹t want to be a baseball bum, living in the past.²
-30-

[joeadcock]

Thanks for the story on another Brave of the past

[bh3443]

RIP Wes Covington. My thoughts and prayers go out to him, his family and fans.
I remember getting his 1961 Topps card when I was 8 or 9 years old from a nice older kid in the neighborhood who gave me his cards when he left for Vietnam in 1969/70. He had his cards by team and the first card on the 61 Topps stack was Wes Covington.
The Braves had so many great ball players like Covington, Alou, Carty, Aaron, and so many more. We were truly blessed to have such stars!

[Kenny Cole]

When I was 10 (1971) I had a paper route. On the route, toward the end, was a house with a couple of guys who were in their late teens/early 20's. Oscar and Pete. They were big basketball fans. I used to park my bike and spend half an hour or so playing hoops with them. After a bit, we got around to cards and initially, the deal was that I'd go buy those big Topps basketball cards and trade them for baseball cards from the 50's. You could get both the 70 and 71 cards from the guys in the ice cream trucks back then, depending on the truck. I have no idea how many Wilts, Alcindors, Haviliceks, Maraviches, etc. I traded for guys who weren't Mays, Mantle, Aaron, or Koufax, but it was a lot.

Ultimately, Oscar and Pete took pity on my vast ignorance and sold me three grocery sacks full of cards from 1955-1966 for $3. That was sort of the start of the obsession. For whatever reason, one of my favorite cards from that haul was the 1960 Covington card. My little brother and I used to play ball in the house, using our hands as a bat and an orange nerf ball as the ball, making out our lineup with cards, including those from that haul. My little brother was more into the 1971 cards, but for whatever reason, the 1960 set was my favorite. Covington was almost always in my lineup. RIP Wes. I never saw you play, but you gave me great memories nonetheless.

[gavvy]

Thanks for posting-many fond memories of watching Wes` bombs sail over the metal right field wall at Connie Mack in batting practice. Left us in awe.
R.I.P. Wes.

[bh3443]

Hi Kenny! Great to read your post. Those dudes hooked you up big time for 3.00! My brother and I played nerf BB and basketball in the house, too! Remember the nerf hoop and orange ball? I have pics of us jumping all over the place making insane shots in the living room! Those were the days!
Those ice cream trucks here in Boston usually had Topps BB from the past season and multiple series too. It was a dime a pack for the current stuff (70-72) and 5 cents a pack for the older stuff with a warning that the gum was old!