Oscar Gamble, R.I.P.

Former major league outfielder and DH Oscar Gamble has passed away of a cancerous tumor in his jaw. He was 68.

The Alabama native was discovered by Buck O'Neil in 1968 and would be drafted by the Chicago Cubs that year making his big league debut with the club the following year at the age of 19. The Cubs traded Gamble to the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 1970 season for outfielder Johnny Callison. After spending three seasons with the Phillies, Gamble was traded to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Del Unser.

It was in Cleveland where Gamble first garnered significant notice. In his inaugural season with the Tribe in 1973, Gamble belted 20 home runs as the team's primary DH. Indeed, it was also the inaugural season of the DH. As a below average defensive outfielder, Gamble was ideally suited to the new role. Gamble gained even more notice for his long Afro and his unique use of the English language.

When Gamble was traded to the New York Yankees prior to the 1976 season for pitcher Pat Dobson he had to shear the Afro. However, he would play in his very first World Series that season. The Yankees would deal Gamble to the Chicago White Sox along with a future Cy Young Award winner in LaMarr Hoyt in exchange for a light hitting shortstop named Bucky Dent. Gamble would enjoy his best big league season with the South Side Hitmen hitting a career high 31 HR and 83 RBI on a Chisox team which won 90 games in 1977.

In 1978, Gamble signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent. However, his offensive numbers fell to 7 HR and 47 RBI. The Padres traded Gamble to the Texas Rangers for Mike Hargrove. Gamble would split the 1979 season with the Rangers and the Yankees. His second tour of duty with the Yankees would last through 1984 during which he would appear in one more World Series in 1981. Gamble finished his big league career in 1985 with a second tour of duty with the Chisox. In 17 big league seasons, Gamble collected 1,195 hits for a .265 lifetime batting average with 200 home runs and 666 RBI.

Gamble's legacy (and hair) have been kept alive for new generations in Dan Epstein's 2010 book Big Hair and Plastic Grass, the cover of which prominently features Gamble's fro. Here is Epstein talking about his favorite player. R.I.P.