Remembering Thurman on a Special Old-Timer's Day

Not only is today the final Old-Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium, but it also falls on the same day that the Yankees lost their captain, Thurman Munson to a tragic airplane crash 29 years ago.

Here's more from The New York Post (hat tip to Steve Lombardi):

Twenty-nine years ago today, Yankee captain Thurman Munson died in an airplane accident. The coincidence of that anniversary with today's Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium is especially poignant for several participants.

Munson's widow, Diana, will be on hand for the festivities in The Bronx, as will a number of Munson's old teammates, including 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Goose Gossage.

"This is a bit bittersweet, being the last Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium, and it's Aug. 2, which is the day of my husband's accident," Diana Munson said yesterday.

"But to be with the people who loved him and to share the feeling we all have ... that's the amazing thing about coming back to New York."

Gossage, who played with Munson in 1978 and 1979, said he thought of him when he was on the podium in Cooperstown last weekend.

"There wasn't a greater competitor or a greater friend or a greater teammate," Gossage said. "And Thurman, with the anniversary [today] of his death, it's going to be a great weekend ... it's going to be emotional."

Hopefully this rain will go away and they won't have to push back Old-Timer's day to tomorrow. It's very fitting that the final Old-Timer's Day at Yankees Stadium falls on this day.

Besides highlight films I never got to see Thurman play, but I know I would have loved rooting for him. He was the type of player I enjoy watching. A guy who left everything on the field, and played through all types of injuries and pain. Words like 'winner' and 'gamer' come to mind when I think of Munson, he epitomized what it was to be a Yankee.

I've posted this before, it's a tribute to Thurman that aired on WCBS-TV on August 2, 1989, ten years after his tragic death.

There is also some concern about what will happen to Munson's locker:

With the current Yankee Stadium closing at the end of the season, there is some doubt about what will happen to Munson's locker, which has been preserved in the Yankees clubhouse ever since his death.

"It's obviously very important to me what happens to that locker, and I'm so grateful to Mr. Steinbrenner for the tribute to Thurman, leaving it empty for 29 years," Diana Munson said. "I'm nervous - I want to know where it's going."

I had thought it was supposed to be moved into the new stadium. If they don't bring the locker with them to the new stadium it will be an absolute disgrace.

Jason from Heartland Pinstripes posted this great article about Thurman last year on this day, check it out.