photo: Walt Jocketty (Frank Victores/USA TODAY Sports)
In our 20th annual feature, we remember 14 former St. Louis Cardinals who passed away during the last year as well as the last three St. Louis Browns.
The calendar change to the New Year means it is time to once again remember members of the St. Louis Cardinals community who passed away during the prior 12 months.
Among those to have left us during 2025 are well known names including Cardinals Hall of Fame general manager Walt Jocketty and Ford Frick Award winner Bob Uecker. Others are so obscure they played in just a handful of games, but all 14 are former St. Louis Cardinals who passed away this past year.
The many former Cardinals still with us include 1954 pitcher Bill Greason, the team’s oldest living former player. The right-hander celebrated his 101st birthday on September 3rd and as of March 2025 is also MLB’s oldest living former player.
In our 20th annual feature, a short memory of each of the 14 follows. We conclude with a final look at the St. Louis Browns, unfortunately.
2025 Cardinals deaths
January 16, Bob Uecker, age 90
Fairly anonymous as a player, the catcher was a reserve on the 1964 World Champion Cardinals.
The Milwaukee native returned home and became a legendary broadcaster/comedian/actor beloved across the country. Honored with the nickname “Mr. Baseball”, Uecker received the Ford Frick Award for broadcasting from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
February 17, Eddie Fisher, age 88
The right-handed knuckleballer concluded his 15-year Major League career with six games in relief for the 1973 Cardinals, posting a 1.29 ERA. Fisher was an All-Star with the 1965 White Sox, and at the time of his retirement, led the American League in career relief appearances with 593.
April 5, Carl Warwick, age 88
Warwick was a hero off the bench in the 1964 World Series with a record-tying three pinch hits that were key in two of the Cardinals’ victories over the New York Yankees in seven games.
Though the outfielder first came up with the 1961 Dodgers, Warwick appeared in parts of four seasons in two stints with the Cardinals – 1961, 1962, 1964 and 1965. The Dallas, Texas native also played for Houston, Baltimore and the Cubs.
April 8, Octavio Dotel, age 41
The 15-year MLB journeyman was part of St. Louis 2011 World Series championship team after his acquisition at the trade deadline. In 29 games out of St. Louis’ bullpen, Dotel logged a 3.65 ERA with 32 strikeouts, three wins and two saves.
He lost his life at the young age of 41 due to a tragic roof collapse at a Dominican Republic nightclub.
April 25, Walt Jocketty, age 74
As the first general manager of the DeWitt era Cardinals, Jocketty’s front office drafted future Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, acquired Adam Wainwright in trade and hired future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa. Jocketty also brought Cardinal Hall of Famers Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Jason Isringhausen and Chris Carpenter to St. Louis.
Jocketty’s resume includes one World Series title, two NL Pennants and six NL Central Division titles. He also was named Executive of the Year three times, with St. Louis in 2000 and 2004, and again with the Cincinnati Reds, his post-Cardinals employer. He was with St. Louis from 1994 through 2007.
Jocketty left us after a long illness in his Arizona home. It was prior to his induction into the Cardinals Hall of Fame last summer, but he was aware of the honor before his passing.
April 26, Vic Harris, age 75
The utilityman from Los Angeles joined St. Louis in 1973, batting .228 and appearing at six different defensive positions.
Over his six-year MLB career, Harris played in 579 games with a .217 average. After a stint in Japan, Harris concluded his playing days with the 1984 Triple-A Louisville Redbirds.
June 13, Johnny O’Brien, age 94
A middle infielder who also pitched in relief upon occasion, O’Brien and his twin brother Eddie were bonus babies signed by Branch Rickey and the Pirates in 1953. Johnny joined the Cardinals in a 1958 mid-season trade but after being dropped from the roster, he was claimed by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft. Mostly used as a pinch runner by St. Louis, O’Brien appeared in 12 games and scored three runs but went 0-for-3 with a walk at the plate.
In an interesting sideline, O’Brien’s grandson, Riley, currently pitches for the Cardinals.
June 16, Ron Taylor, age 87
Taylor was a two-time World Series-winning reliever, first with the 1964 Cardinals, saving a game in the Series. He was a hero for the 1969 Mets and received his second ring. The left-hander made 491 career appearances over 11 seasons for five teams.
Following his playing days, Taylor became a doctor, serving as the team physician of the Toronto Blue Jays starting in 1979 and continuing for more than 30 years. He passed away after a long illness.
June 24, Diego Segui, age 87
Segui, a native of Cuba, played 15 seasons in the majors. That included 1972 and 1973 with the Cardinals, during which he made 98 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2.88 ERA.
Segui’s MLB career record is 92-111 with 71 saves, a 3.81 ERA, 786 walks and 1,298 strikeouts in 1,807 2/3 innings in 639 regular-season games, including 171 starts.
June 27, Ed Mickelson, age 98
A former Washington University standout, Mickelson’s big-league career consisted of just 18 games from 1950-57 — five for the Cardinals, seven for the Browns, and six for the Chicago Cubs. He was perhaps best known for driving in the final run in Browns history in September 1953.
At the time of his passing, Mickelson was the third oldest living major leaguer and the last living person to play for both St. Louis teams.
June 28, Dave Parker, age 74
“The Cobra” was arguably the most feared hitter in baseball in the 1970s for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2025, Parker was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he passed away a month before the ceremony.
Parker is listed here because he served as the hitting coach of the 1998 Cardinals under Tony La Russa.
August 24, Marc Hill, age 73
The Cardinals drafted Hill out of his Ellsbury, Missouri high school in 1970. Working his way through the system, he made his St. Louis debut in September 1973. Hill split his 1974 between the Cardinals and Triple-A Tulsa before being traded that winter to the Giants, where he enjoyed his greatest MLB success. With St. Louis, he batted .208 in 11 games. Hill later backed up Carlton Fisk with the White Sox and managed in the minor leagues for several organizations.
August 28, Daryl Patterson, age 81
The right-handed pitcher and five-year MLB veteran made two starts and 11 relief appearances in 1971’s second half after joining the Cardinals in a cash deal with Oakland. Patterson had a 4.39 ERA in his only partial season with St. Louis.
November 24, George Altman, age 92
The outfielder played in the Negro Leagues in 1955 before spending nine years in the majors and another eight in Japan, where he swatted 205 home runs before retiring at the age of 42.
Altman was a two-time National League All-Star (1961 and 1962) with the Cubs before he was traded to St. Louis prior to the 1963 season. In his one season as a Cardinal which was partially slowed by injuries, Altman hit .274 with nine home runs and 47 RBI in 135 games.
Altman died peacefully in his sleep just eight days after his wife passed.
The final memory of the Browns
A total of 764 men once played for the team that has been the Baltimore Orioles since 1954.
The count of living former St. Louis Browns is down to zero with the 2025 deaths of the final three. On March 5, 98-year-old Frank Saucier passed, followed by the June 27 death of Ed Mickelson, age 98, noted above.
The last of the Browns passed on July 3, 97-year-old Billy Hunter. He was an All-Star as a rookie with the Browns in 1953, their final season in St. Louis. RIP to Billy, who went on to be a longtime coach for the Orioles, and to the other 16 men remembered in this article.
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