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Bob Boone Caught Tug's Last Strike and Hit .412 in That World Series. He Has Died at 78.
Bob Boone has died at 78, confirmed by his son Bret. He caught Tug McGraw's series-ending strikeout of Willie Wilson in Game 6 of the 1980 World Series, and he hit .412 in that Series, 7-for-17, with no strikeouts. A Philadelphia remembrance of the catcher behind that last pitch, the first title, and a three-generation baseball family.
Bob Boone has died at 78. He died Monday, Nov. 9, his son Bret said in a social media post late Monday, quoted in full by Cox Media Group's Bob D'Angelo and, in slightly shorter form, by KYW's Dave Uram, who identified the post as Facebook. The New York Post and Sports Illustrated, in reporting also carried by The Big Lead, also reported the death Tuesday, citing multiple reports, as did CBS Philadelphia. A cause of death has not been reported.
He was the catcher on the night the Phillies finally won it all, and the box score says he was more than a face in the celebration.
On Oct. 21, 1980, at Veterans Stadium, Boone was in a crouch when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson for the last out of the first World Series title in franchise history. The image everyone remembers is Tug leaping. Boone was the catcher rising out of the crouch behind him: sore-kneed, arms up, the ball still in the mitt, as the Inquirer later described it. He also hit .412 in that Series, 7-for-17, with four RBI and zero strikeouts, per Baseball-Reference.
The clincher was a 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals, in front of 65,838 at the Vet. Steve Carlton got the win. McGraw got the save. Boone started behind the plate and caught the entire game, according to the Retrosheet play-by-play and the Baseball-Reference box.
In the third inning he walked and scored on Mike Schmidt's single, the first of two runs on that hit. In the sixth he singled in Larry Bowa to make it 4-0. In the ninth, with the bases loaded and one out, Frank White's foul popup in front of the dugout caromed off Boone's glove. Pete Rose caught it. Wilson then struck out. The Inquirer's Frank Fitzpatrick, writing in 2010, timed the last pitch at 11:29 p.m. and described what came next: "The Phillies' sore-kneed catcher stood up and triumphantly raised both arms." Video, Fitzpatrick wrote, showed "the ball was still in Boone's upraised mitt as he strode calmly toward" the gathering around McGraw.
Boone later handed the clinching ball to McGraw and immediately regretted it. "How stupid of me," he told the Inquirer. "Knowing Tug, he probably gave it to some little kid." As of Fitzpatrick's 2010 story, the ball had never resurfaced. Schmidt was named Series MVP. Boone's line is still the receipt that belongs next to that image.
He was a homegrown Phillie. Robert Raymond Boone was born Nov. 19, 1947, in San Diego, went to Stanford, and was drafted by Philadelphia in the sixth round in 1969. He debuted on Sept. 10, 1972, and spent 10 seasons here, 1972 through 1981: 1,125 games, a .259 average, 65 home runs, 456 RBI. He finished third in the 1973 National League Rookie of the Year vote. He was a four-time All-Star, three of those times as a Phillie (1976, 1978, 1979), and once with the California Angels (1983). He won seven Gold Gloves, two of them in Philadelphia (1978 and 1979). The club inducted him into the Wall of Fame in 2005.
The Angels acquired him from the Phillies in December 1981. He caught in California from 1982 through 1988 and finished with Kansas City in 1989 and 1990. His last game was Sept. 27, 1990, at age 42. Over 19 seasons he hit .254, with 1,838 hits, 105 home runs, and 826 RBI. He caught 2,225 games, third all-time behind Iván Rodríguez and Carlton Fisk, a ranking confirmed on Baseball-Reference's career leaderboard and reported by Sports Illustrated and The Big Lead.
After he stopped playing, he managed the Royals from 1995 through 1997 and the Reds from 2001 through 2003, a 371-444 record over six seasons. The New York Post notes that he managed his son Aaron in Cincinnati before Aaron's 2003 trade to the Yankees. He joined the Washington Nationals' front office in 2005, served as assistant general manager and vice president for player development from 2009, and resigned in September 2021, per Sports Illustrated.
He was the middle link in baseball's first three-generation major-league family. His father, Ray Boone, was a two-time All-Star infielder. His sons are Bret, who confirmed the death and was himself a three-time All-Star, per the New York Post, and Aaron, the current Yankees manager. They became the first when Bret debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 1992, as SI, Cox, and an MLB.com family feature have described it. Aaron debuted with the Reds in 1997. Posts quoted by Cox from Greg Luzinski, Boone's old roommate and 1980 teammate, and from Bob Nightengale also named Boone's wife, Sue.
In the post quoted by Cox, Bret wrote: "With a heavy heart I'm here to confirm the passing of my dad (Bob Boone) today. He was a man of great integrity. He was a great dad, husband, and patriarch. It was a privilege to call him my father. Baseball lost a great one today."
Boone was never going to be the man that famous image is of. That night is incomplete without him. The Series line is the proof that he belonged in the middle of that night for more than one reason.
Tommy Vale writes about Philadelphia sports for Negadelphia.
Sources
- [Cox Media Group / Bob D'Angelo, Nov. 10, 2026, 7:43 a.m. ET](https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending/former-mlb-catcher-manager-bob-boone-dies-78/JJ2IFI56BRDRDL3FQKD3RJUQEQ/). Fuller text of Bret Boone's social-media post confirming the death Monday, Nov. 9, at 78; family context (Ray, Bret, Aaron); seven Gold Gloves attributed to Baseball-Reference; managerial years 1995-97 and 2001-03, record 371-444; Nationals front-office dates via SI. Contemporaneous posts from Greg Luzinski, Jim Bowden, and Bob Nightengale, including Luzinski's roommate line and Nightengale's naming of wife Sue. Cox also repeats SI's note that Bowden hired him in 2000; this draft does not use that as a managerial start year. The Reds tenure used here is 2001-03, as Cox itself later states and as [Baseball-Reference's managerial register](https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/boonebo01.shtml) confirms (371-444, .455, in 815 games; Royals 1995-97, Reds 2001-03).
- [KYW Newsradio / Dave Uram, Nov. 10, 2026, 7:16 a.m. ET](https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/local-sports/phillies-1980-champion-bob-boone-dies). Identifies Bret's post as Facebook and carries a slightly abridged quote; 1972-1981 Phillies years; two of seven Gold Gloves in Philadelphia; three-time All-Star as a Phillie; caught McGraw's strikeout of Wilson; .412 and 1.029 OPS, four RBI in the 1980 World Series; Wall of Fame in 2005.
- [New York Post / Matt Ehalt, Nov. 10, 2026, 8:05 a.m. ET](https://nypost.com/2026/11/10/sports/bob-boone-mlb-all-star-and-father-of-yankees-manager-dead-at-78/). Independent report of the death at 78, "according to multiple reports"; four All-Star berths; Bret as a three-time All-Star; Aaron as current Yankees manager; managed Aaron in Cincinnati before the 2003 trade to the Yankees. This draft does not use the Post's "nine years" with the Phillies (it was 10 seasons, 1972-1981), its "traded" wording for the 1981 move, its unverified Orlando expansion note, or a precise "Nth year" count of Aaron's Yankees tenure.
- [Sports Illustrated / J.P. Hoornstra](https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/onsi/bob-boone-cause-of-death) and the same reporting on [The Big Lead](https://www.thebiglead.com/phillies-bob-boone-cause-of-death-angels-royals-reds-nationals-mlb/). Independent report of the death "according to multiple reports Monday, Nov. 9," citing posts from Greg Luzinski and Jim Bowden. 2,225 games at catcher, third in history; seven Gold Gloves, ranked fourth among catchers; first three-generation family when Bret debuted in 1992; Aaron as current Yankees manager; Angels acquired him from the Phillies in 1981; Nationals front office beginning 2005, assistant GM and VP for player development from 2009, resigned September 2021 (SI). The URL slugs include the phrase "cause of death"; neither article reports one, and this draft does not either.
- [CBS Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2026, 9:03 a.m. ET](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/bob-boone-philadelphia-phillies-obituary-world-series-1980/). Independent local confirmation of the death at 78 via Bret Boone's Facebook post; 10 Phillies seasons; Wall of Fame 2005. No Phillies, MLB.com, or AP item found as of 9:20 a.m. ET Standards pass.
- [Baseball-Reference player page](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boonebo01.shtml). Born Nov. 19, 1947, San Diego; Stanford; drafted by the Phillies, sixth round, 1969; debut Sept. 10, 1972; last game Sept. 27, 1990; 19 seasons; career .254 / .315 / .346, 1,838 hits, 105 HR, 826 RBI, 27.4 WAR; Phillies 10 years, 1,125 games, .259 / .325 / .370, 65 HR, 456 RBI, 13.0 WAR; ROY-3 in 1973; All-Star in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983; Gold Gloves in 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989; World Series line 6 G, 17 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 0 SO, .412 / .500 / .529 / 1.029; 2,225 games at catcher.
- [Baseball-Reference, career leaders for defensive games as catcher](https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/Gm_c_career.shtml). Iván Rodríguez 2,427; Carlton Fisk 2,226; Bob Boone 2,225.
- [Baseball-Reference, 1980 World Series](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1980_WS.shtml). Phillies over Royals, 4-2; Series batting table for Boone's line.
- [Baseball-Reference, World Series Game 6 box](https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198010210.shtml) and [Retrosheet Game 6 box and play-by-play](https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1980/B10210PHI1980.htm). Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1980, night, Veterans Stadium; Phillies 4, Royals 1; attendance 65,838; Carlton W, McGraw SV; Boone started at catcher; third-inning walk and run on Schmidt's single; sixth-inning RBI single (Bowa scored); ninth-inning popup "caromed off Boone's glove to Rose," then Wilson struck out.
- [Inquirer / Frank Fitzpatrick, Dec. 5, 2010](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/sports/phillies/20101205_Whatever_happened_to_Phillies__1980_World_Series_ball_.html). Last pitch timed at 11:29 p.m.; "sore-kneed catcher" with both arms raised; ball still in the upraised mitt as Boone walked toward McGraw; Boone later handed McGraw the clinching ball and immediately regretted it, with the two quoted sentences used above; ball never publicly recovered. Fitzpatrick's attendance figure is 65,839; this draft uses Retrosheet's and Baseball-Reference's 65,838.
- [Phillies Wall of Fame](https://www.mlb.com/phillies/history/records-stats-awards/wall-of-fame). Official club page: Bob Boone, catcher, 1972-1981, inducted 2005. (The page also lists the correct Phillies years, 1972-1981, not 1982.)
- [Baseball-Reference managerial register](https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/boonebo01.shtml). Career 371-444 (.455) in 815 games over six seasons: Royals 1995-97 (181-206, including a mid-1997 start of 36-46) and Reds 2001-03 (190-238, including a mid-2003 start of 46-58). The body uses only the career record and the year ranges, not the midseason firing detail.
- [MLB.com / family-legacy feature, May 14, 2025](https://www.mlb.com/news/bret-boone-on-his-family-s-baseball-legacy). Ray, Bob, Bret, and Aaron; Bret's 1992 Mariners debut and Aaron's 1997 Reds debut in the three-generation timeline. This is a 2025 feature, not an obituary, and is used only for family history.
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