Lest We Forget: Fritz Peterson

I’ve may have mentioned a project I’m working on: collecting obituaries of ballplayers that have appeared in The New York Times with the notion of how a player is identified in the opening lines.

Here’s what Bruce Weber had to say in today’s edition, which had a “refer” on the front page.

Fritz Peterson, who was a stalwart pitcher for the ineffectual Yankees of the late 1960s and early ’70s, but whose lingering renown derived more from one of baseball’s most notorious “trades” — his exchange of wives with a teammate — has died. He was 82.

In fact, it wasn’t just wives; it was families, pets, and house.

Although no cause of death was given, Peterson had been in declining health for years, which is one of the reasons he wanted to publish his memoirs.

Peterson spent most of his career with the Yankees, with whom he went 20-11 and earned his sole All-Star berth in 1970. He was traded to Cleveland in 1974 in the deal that brought Chris Chambliss to the Bronx. Peterson was traded to the Texas Rangers in 1976. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox but never played for them. Peterson finished with a record of 133-131

I met Peterson a few times later in his life. He self-published two books — Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven and When the Yankees Were on the Fritz: Revisiting the Horace Clarke Years — and was at Yankees Fantasy Camp when I was reporting on a special Jewish program for the NJ Jewish News.

If memory serves (and it sometimes doesn’t), I had a hand in setting up a meeting between Peterson and veteran sportswriter Maury Allen, who first reported on the “trade” between the lefty pitcher and teammate Mike Kekich. Needless to say, it was quite the to-do and Allen became persona non grata to Peterson. I had done a story about Allen when he moved to Cedar Grove, NJ and we developed a friendship that was all too brief (Allen passed away in 2010). During that time, I told him that Peterson was coming to the Yogi Berra Museum (see “Author Appearance” below) to promote his first book. Wouldn’t it be nice to come by and clear the air? To my surprise, Allen agreed and it turned out to be quite a charming scene.

I did a Bookshelf Conversation with Peterson and another interview during the Yankee camp session.