alan wiggins death

I said, ‘What if the doctor says he not only can play, but must play to preserve his life?’, “Do you know what (Kroc’s) response was: " . Steve Garvey was the only member of the 1984 Padre World Series team that attended the services. “When we saw him, we’d always pick his brain, wanting to know how he made it,” Stone said. . . But he didn’t think it was their business. . It is all here. I don’t want to put any guilt on myself, but I wish I had been there for him, and given him encouragement. He’d call me and say, ‘Here’s my number, tell the guys to call me.’ I’d go to the ballpark, give out the number to a few guys, and you know what? Wiggins belonged to a clique of one. The reason for the Dodgers’ decision was simple. They were all close, all sharing the same dream. “He has had some health problems for some time, he knew what was happening,” said Dr. James McGee, Wiggins’ psychiatrist in Baltimore. Their diamond was nothing more than a sandlot. And they didn’t care. Wiggins never arrived, and after the Padres called the police, he emerged the next day, and was in a rehabilitation center by the weekend. “I remember when he was with the Padres, and was in Minnesota (in drug rehabilitation). He usually stayed with friends, until he could no longer survive on his own, and it was his brother Kenneth who had him admitted to the emergency room that night in November. Maybe he didn’t want success. Wiggins made it full time with the Padres midway through the 1982 season, but that July also marked the first of several drug-related incidents, an arrest for cocaine possession during a traffic stop by San Diego police. “I’ve shed a lot of tears over this, and I don’t want to place blame on myself or Lyle or Wayne, but we feel bad because we were not persistent enough. It was about in 1983, Wiggins’ friends say, when Karla Wiggins was diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s disease. The accused killer of three men who were on a weekend fishing trip in July could face the death penalty if convicted. . . In Baltimore, they gave everyone on the team an IQ test. I mean as close as we were, none of us even knew he was sick. Methodist Church in Pasadena Friday during the funeral service, trying to comfort one another and erase feelings of guilt created by their friend’s death. I’m still trying to figure out why this happened.”. Lee Lacy was the only Oriole player who arrived. We used to say all the time, we need to go down there (to San Diego), grab the brother, pull him aside, and straighten him out. It was Angie, and her mother, Anna Woods, who last saw Alan alive. “His mom was so proud of his accomplishments. There was no teammate he enjoyed more than pitcher Eric Show, who belongs to the John Birch Society. He was suspended for 30 days by then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn after completing a month's rehabilitation program, then returned to the Padres. . And there were occasional spats in the Padre clubhouse. “We didn’t think it was anything problematic thing,” said Tom Romenesko, then-Padre farm director. It manifested itself into a lot of disappointment, and a lot of misunderstanding. There were early signs of problems in Wiggins’ career after he was selected in the first round of the 1977 draft by the Angels. A speedy leadoff hitter, Wiggins established a Padres single-season record for stolen bases in 1984, when they won the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and advanced to the World Series. “I mean, Wiggs would say, ‘What do you like better, Coke or Pepsi?’ He could care less. . “Alan knew he had superior talent,” Stone said. His parents divorced when he was only a year old. Wiggins, 32, died Jan. 6 of complications caused by AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, according to one of his doctors. . The complete list of L.A. Times’ endorsements in the November 2020 election. Who did? “He was a guy who had a lot of pride, and that was both an asset, and a liability, in a lot of ways.”. “They’re thinking, here comes this black militant kid, and he’s trying to to take one of our guys’ place. There’s so much I wanted to tell him. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 1987. He double-checked on his $150,000 life insurance policy with the players’ association. “He was unmercifully depressed. “It was like point-counterpoint, Wiggs just loved that,” Gwynn said. He began preparing for his children’s financial future. If you see something that doesn't look right on this page, please do inform us using the form below: © 2017 Dead or Kicking / All Rights Reserved. Said Donald: “He was so very honest, and very direct. It’s me and Wiggins hugging each other after scoring the winning run against the Cubs in the ’84 playoffs. “If you didn’t know him, you might get the wrong picture of him,” Stone said. She gave me the same response.”, Ballard Smith, then-Padre president, said: “We knew after that happened, he’d never play for us again. They would rake an infield, build a pitching mound, and while playing the field, pulled their hats on tightly to prevent them from falling into the stickers. “People who don’t play professional sports say you should know everything about a guy, but we didn’t know him. “But he’d respect you for putting up an argument.”. The Padres experimented before the 1984 season by moving Wiggins to second base, and by the time the season ended, Wiggins had scored 106 runs, stole 70 bases, and the Padres had a National League pennant. He had been practicing.”. Questions immediately arose. The Padres tried Wiggins at second base the next spring, an experiment that helped win them the NL pennant; he hit .341 in the postseason, including .364 in the World Series loss to Detroit. The Dodgers won’t confirm any drug involvement, but Padre officials say it simply involved an arrest for possession of marijuana. Two hours later, after Angie returned to her home with the children, her mother telephoned. He was an introvert and trusted few people. He was caught by the police, so we just hid it.”. The three sat together in pews at Calvary C.M.E. He broke his left hand just before the season and missed 10 weeks. . Still, the pain was unbearable. “They didn’t even listen. He just knew it. . Alan passed away on January 6, 1991 at the age of 32 in Los Angeles, CA. Endorsements. He was married to Angela Mckenzie. It was like he was laughing about it. We’d see things in the paper about him, and say, ‘Come on, that’s not the Alan we know. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. “I feel like basically he died alone,” Hollier said. Wiggins began studying the real-estate market when he returned to San Diego. And you’re going to be playing a long time because the other guy'--that’s what he called him--'didn’t show up. Some say he never recovered. “That’s the last time most of us ever saw him.”. He was our most valuable player. Your contribution is much appreciated! “It was known in our organization that he had a problem in the Dodger organization,” said Dick Williams, who then managed the Padres. "Pneumonia, tuberculosis and other medical complications is what I've been given as cause of death.". He surfaced two days later in a drug rehabilitation facility. Can you believe it? “We all cared about him greatly, but I think he felt embarrassed about what happened, and he shut us out. No one even blinked. The Orioles settled on an agreement in which the Padres would be obligated to pay part of the contract if Wiggins had a relapse, and then traded them pitchers Roy L. Jackson and Rich Caldell. “That’s what makes me sick now, seeing these guys come out in the paper like they’re his friends, and they’re not even at the funeral. It was not a matter of baseball. Padre owner Joan Kroc said that Wiggins wasn’t coming back, and there was nothing Wiggins or Attanasio could do to persuade her otherwise. He stayed 30 days, was reinstated, and then went right back into the lineup. Byrd was 115-72 during his 17-year career (much of it with the Elite Giants in Washington and Baltimore), according to Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia. Alan Wiggins Birthday and Date of Death. But it happened again, this time in San Diego on the night of July 21, 1982. I don’t know, I’ve got more questions than anyone else. Mostly, he spent his free time fishing and playing an occasional round of golf. The only one in uniform who was higher was Manager Earl Weaver. There are no direct, simple reasons why Wiggins became an addict, and allowed drugs to ruin his life, but McGee said: “I think they were a number of very significant traumas in his personal life that very few people know about. “When he was on the road, he was alone. Obituary Sqn Ldr Alan Wiggins 09 Jun 2014 Central & East Region are sad to announce the death of one of the Corps’ long serving Officers’ Squadron Leader Alan Wiggins RAFVR(T). I remember once when he didn’t have any shoes to wear, so he wore these white Converse high-tops, and he didn’t care who laughed at him.”. “It’s so tough when you see someone going through the pain he was going through,” said Donald Wiggins, “and not being able to do anything about it. Wiggins, who was called Tony by his family and Alan by his friends, acknowledged that he sometimes would be stubborn intentionally, simply to see the reaction of his teammates. Desktop notifications are on   | Turn off, Get breaking news alerts from The Washington Post. Each of the four players was drafted, but with the exception of Wiggins, none advanced past double-A. A human being was in trouble. These were three of Alan Wiggins’ closest friends growing up in Pasadena, staying together from Little League to Elliott Junior High to the Senior Babe Ruth League to being teammates at Muir High. He kept improving, and stole a minor league record 120 bases in 1980. He began losing weight, but he rarely weighed more than 160 pounds during his playing days, so few people noticed. I remember seeing her, and she was so proud. That’s why when you look at his signature, it’s so good. He died on January 6, 1991 in Los Angeles. We had to do what we thought was right.”. He still would make visits to see his family, but the telephone calls to even his closest friends began to stop. "After 36 years in baseball, I've decided to step back and enjoy a few things in life," he said in a statement released by the Tigers. He knew he was going to play ball. The man who was the catalyst on the San Diego Padres’ 1984 National League championship team weighed less than 75 pounds at the time of death.

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