The backstop for the “Dynastic, Fantastic, Bombastic…Swingin’ A’s” (to borrow from author Jason Turbow) passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after a long battle with cancer. Here’s the obituary which appeared in East Bay Times.
Fosse seems to be the poster boy when discussing “what might have been.” He was a promising catcher for the Cleveland Indians, with whom he made his debut in 1967. He was an All-Star in 1970, batting .305 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. But it was in that year’s AS Game — hosted in Ohio, home to both the Cincinnati Reds and Fosse’s Indians — when he became a subject in one of the most replayed videos in the history of the game.
Rose called Fosse “the next coming of Johnny Bench” in this video in which he seeks to mitigate the incident. Despite the claims, Fosse was never quite the same player after the collision.
Fosse spent more than 30 years in the broadcast booth for the A’s.
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