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  •Richie Ashburn
  •Ben Hogan


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Richie Ashburn: Baseball Hall of Famer
1927-1997

"Baseball is much poorer today because he's not with us."

A Philly Whiz Kid in the 1950s, Richie Ashburn ("Whitey") was a sight in the outfield -- a blazing streak of unadulterated energy. Ashburn might be best remembered for throwing out a Brooklyn Dodgers runner at the plate to preserve a tie, sending the Phillies to a win in extra innings and on to the 1950 World Series against the New York Yankees. The Whiz Kids were swept in four games by the Yankees.

Besides his duties as a Phillies radio and television announcer, Ashburn also wrote a column for the Philadelphia Daily News, passing along his dry sense of humor.

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Ben Hogan: Golf champion
1912-1997

"No human has ever come as close to controlling the golf ball as perfectly as he did."

He was the tough little fighter who had almost as many nicknames -- "The Hawk," "Blazing Ben" and "Little Ice Water" -- as he did golf trophies. The son of a Dublin, Texas, blacksmith, Ben Hogan forged his perfect swing by practicing until his hands bled. His fierce will helped him recover from a 1949 auto collision that nearly killed him -- and left him with a lifelong limp.

But that disability didn't dampen Hogan or his ambition; golf great Sam Snead used to demand the farthest hotel room from Hogan on the road, aware that Hogan's endless putting next door would keep him awake. And even when Hogan slept, he competed. He once dreamed of making 17 straight holes-in-one. "I woke up," he said later, "having lipped out the 18th and I was madder then hell."

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