Former Sox Skowron Dead at 81

"Moose" Skowron passed away from congestive heart failure

Five-time World Series champion and former White Sox player William Joseph "Moose" Skowron Jr. died Friday at the age of 81.

The Chicago native played for his hometown White Sox but was most well known for playing in the World Series with the New YorK Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"We all have lost a dear, dear friend today," said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.  "While Moose may have become a star in New York with the Yankees, he was a Chicagoan through and through. I certainly will miss his priceless stories about Casey Stengel, Roger Maris, Hank Bauer and of course, his good friend, Mickey Mantle." 

Best known as a member of the great New York Yankees teams of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Skowron played for five teams over the course of a 14-year career that spanned from 1954-67.  He won four World Series titles with the Yankees (1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962) and another with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1963), playing in eight World Series overall.  Skowron made his Major League debut on April 13, 1954 with the Yankees and spent nine seasons in New York (1954-62) prior to stints with the Dodgers (1963), Senators (1964), White Sox (1964-67) and Angels (1967).  

Skowron had worked for the White Sox since 1999, when he joined the community relations department as part of the organization’s speakers bureau, making appearances and greeting fans on behalf of the team.

Born in 1930 on the North Side of Chicago, Skowron attended Weber High School and then Purdue University on a football scholarship before focusing on baseball. 

He passed away at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., from congestive heart failure.

He is survived by his wife, Lorraine “Cookie;” daughter Lynette (husband Steve), and granddaughter Addyson; son Greg (wife Sheryl) and grandsons Jordan, Grant and Blake; and son Steve.  Skowron also is survived by his brother Edward (wife Dorothy and daughter Lisa). 

Funeral services details are pending.

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