RIP, Bill Werber (1908-2009)

[roywhite]

Duke's first basketball A-A
Long-time major league baseball player
Died at age 100

Just heard news on Sportscenter

[dukebluelemur]

Espn reporting Billy Werber has passed.

Teammate of Babe Ruth...
Early Duke Great.

Great ambassador for Duke and sports in general.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ap/index.html

[OZZIE4DUKE]

RIP Bill.

[duketaylor]

My granddad played hoops with Mr. Werber back in DC and again at Duke in the 20s and 30s and always had great praise for him. I was lucky enough to play golf with Mr Werber in '88 at a fund-raising function at Duke. I was paired with Mr Werber at that function; he didn't know me and vice-versa, but I knew of him. To clarify, I didn't know with whom I was paired that day until we got into our carts. Then we played golf and I asked him if he knew of my granddad, and he lit up. He told us some stories from years ago and it was a very interesting day.
Duke will miss Mr. Werber and his legacy, he was a great athlete and Dukie.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Thanks for passing this on, roywhite.

So sorry to learn of this. Deepest sympathy to Susie, Dan and family. I know how it feels to lose a father who had such a personal connection to early days of Duke University.

[Johnboy]

RIP, Mr. Werber.

[Cameron]

Teammate of Babe Ruth. If those aren't strong words, then I don't know what are.

What a life he must have lived.

[weezie]

Godspeed, Mr. Werber.

[godukerocks]

Rest in peace. What an amazing man.

[sagegrouse]

I remember seeing Mr. Werber in the Wash Duke bar before basketball games in the early part of the decade (prior to the Sage Grouse deciding to spend his winter in his normal habitat, the Rocky Mountains).

We will all miss him.

sagegrouse

[monkey]

All honor to his name.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Werber

[rasputin]

I'm sure somebody has the details, but didn't Bill Werber spend part of the 1927 baseball season traveling with the Yankees (while he was still a Duke student)?

His MLB career was mostly as a third baseman, with the Red Sox, Athletics, and Reds. He had small stints with the Yankees at the beginning of his career, and the Giants at the end. He led his league in stolen bases three times.

[Olympic Fan]

Great life ... Duke basketball All-American, 11-year Major League Baseball player

Werber reached a verbal deal to sign with the Yankees while he was at Duke. He traveled with the 1927 Yankees for three weeks that summer, sitting on the bench and taking batting practice with that famous team.

He joined the Yankees right after graduation from Duke. In his first at bat in June of 1930, he walked and scored on a home run by Babe Ruth. Werber said he sprinted around the bases, then waited for the Babe at home ... and he said that that when Ruth arrived, he told him, "Kid, when I hit 'em, you don't have to run so hard."

He played for Miller Huggins for a few weeks, then was sent down to Toledo in AAA, where he played for Casey Stengel. When he came back to the Yankees, he played for Joe McCarthy. Later, he played for Connie Mack with the A's.

He was the first player in history to bat on TV -- he was the leadoff hitter for the visiting Reds in 1939 when the Cincinnati at Brooklyn game was broadcast at the New York World's Fair. He was the leadoff hitter and infield anchor for the Cincinnati's back-to-back NL champs in 1939-40. That '39 team lost the series to the Yankees (the year of Lombardi's famous Snooze), but the '40 team beat the Tigers in seven games with Werber hitting .370.

Great career ... great life. He was married for over 70 years and was survived by a son (who played baseball at Duke with Dick Groat) and two daughters. He made a fortune in the brokerage business. He lived more than 100 years.

RIP

[throatybeard]

And Bill Werber served the beer.

[Mudge]

My granddad played hoops with Mr. Werber back in DC and again at Duke in the 20s and 30s and always had great praise for him. I was lucky enough to play golf with Mr Werber in '88 at a fund-raising function at Duke. I was paired with Mr Werber at that function; he didn't know me and vice-versa, but I knew of him. To clarify, I didn't know with whom I was paired that day until we got into our carts. Then we played golf and I asked him if he knew of my granddad, and he lit up. He told us some stories from years ago and it was a very interesting day.
Duke will miss Mr. Werber and his legacy, he was a great athlete and Dukie.

Just found out that my dad's first glove (made at a factory, just down the street from his house) was a Bill Werber autograph model--that he still has-- wonder if this baby is considered a valuable collectible (not that we'd want to sell it, but just pondering, for anecdotal sake.)

[throatybeard]

Werber was in today's (Feb 2) SI. Unfortunately they mentioned only the MLB stuff and not the Duke stuff. But he called current players "caterwaulers." I like it.

[Hancock 4 Duke]

Even though he was way before my time, I still acknowledge anyone who made Duke the team and the school that they are today.

Thank you, Bill Werber, for putting Duke on the map