Maury Wills, the former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop who set a new stolen-base record and helped usher in a new era of speed as an offensive weapon in baseball, died at age 89.
Continue reading to find out more about the circumstances surrounding his demise.
How did Maury Wills die?
According to the Associated Press, citing the team, he died on Monday night at his home in Sedona, Arizona. There was no explanation.
Wills was a member of three World Series-winning Dodger teams between 1959 and 1965. Wills, who played shortstop for most of his 14 seasons in the major leagues, retired with 586 career stolen bases, ranking 20th all-time. He led the National League in thefts for six straight seasons in the 1960s as a switch-hitting leadoff man.
“When a base runner steals several bases over a long period of time, he becomes the reigning skunk at the picnic,” Wills said in a 1977 New York Times column. “Other teams dislike him. He humiliates them.”
