Photos: Johnny Pesky, beloved by Red Sox fans, dies at 92

Posted Aug 13, 2012

BOSTON (AP) — Adored by generations of Red Sox fans, Johnny Pesky was so much a part of Boston baseball that the right-field foul pole at Fenway Park was named for him. Pesky, who played, managed and served as a broadcaster for the Red Sox in a baseball career that lasted more than 60 years, died Monday. He was 92.

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Johnny Pesky, Boston Red Sox shortstop in action on field in Boston on July 10, 1942. (AP Photo/Abe Fox)
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Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky is driven out onto the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch with his teammates from the 1946 season prior to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Opening Day at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday April 11, 2006. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Pesky smiles during a news conference before a baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the Red Sox, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, in Boston. The Red Sox announced that the team will retire Pesky's No. 6. Pesky turns 89 on Saturday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky acknowledges fan's applause after hitting a fungo instead of delivering the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game betweeen the Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Sunday Sept. 28, 2008. Pesky's number 6 was retired in a ceremony prior to the game. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Gil McDougald, New York Yankees infielder, is forced at second base in third inning of game with the Detroit Tigers on August 26, 1953 in Detroit. Gene Woodling, Yanks outfielder, grounded to Johnny Pesky. Pesky tossed to Harvey Kuenn, Tiger shortstop, and Kuenn throws to first after making putout but too late for double play. (AP Photo/Preston Stroup)
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Johnny Pesky, Boston Red Sox infielder, left, honored with a "night" before the Red Sox-Chicago White Sox game in Boston on July 24, 1951, receive a plaque from teammates with Dom DiMaggio making the award. New England fans presented him with a new car during the ceremonies. (AP Photo)
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Boston Red Sox' Johnny Pesky prepares to hit a fungo into home plate for the ceremonial first pitch during ceremonies retiring Pesky's number "6" at Fenway Park in Boston, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 prior to the Red Sox baseball game against the New York Yankees. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Wearing their U.S. Navy uniforms, outfielder Ted Williams, left, and shortstop Johnny Pesky watch the action from the dugout between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Ma. on April 27, 1943. The two former Red Sox players are visiting as U.S. Naval Aviation Cadets. (AP Photo)
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Sportscaster Curt Gowdy, left, jokes with former Red Sox great Johnny Pesky Monday evening, July 22, 2002 at Boston's Fenway Park during a memorial tribute to Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams. Gowdy called the game in which Williams hit his last home run in 1960. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Looking happy on the last day of a great home stand are the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, May 27, 1964, Boston, Mass. the team is, from the first row, left to right, Arnold Larly, Frank Malzone, coach Bob Turley, coach Bill Herman, manager Johnny Pesky, coach Harry Malmberg, coach Al Lakeman, Carl Yastrzemski, Lou Clinton and Tom Dowd, traveling secretary. Second: trainer Jack Fadden, Dick Williams, Felix Mantilla, Eddie Bressoud, Ed Connoy, Dave Moorehead, Dalton Jones, Dave Gray, Pete Charton, Bill Monbouquette, asst. trainer Winn Greene and equipment manager Don Fitzpatrick. Third: Tony Conigliaro, Earl Wilson, Chuck Schilling, Russ Nixon. Bill Spanswick, Roman Mejias, Jack Lamabe, Bob Tillman, Bob Heffner, Dick Stuart and Dick Radatz. Bat boys are Jimmy Morrison and Keith Rosenfield. (AP Photo)
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Former Boston Red Sox player and current special assignment instructor for the team, Johnny Pesky, discusses the old days of playing for the Red Sox, during the AAA All-Star Luncheon in Providence, R.I., Wednesday, July 14, 2004. The Teammates got together again, minus one. Former Boston Red Sox teammates Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio got together again Wednesday to discuss old times and their friendship with Ted Williams. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
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Ted Williams, right, Boston Red Sox slugger, communicates with Johnny Pesky, Red Sox shortstop, during Naval aviation commissions training, with 29 other U.S. Navy V-5 enlistees, at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., Dec. 1, 1942. (AP Photo)
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President Bush, left, shakes hands with Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky, right, as he greets members of the Boston Red Sox baseball team in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 2, 2005 in Washington. Boston won the 2004 World Series defeating the St. Louis Cardinals ending their 86-year drought. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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Johnny Pesky, former Boston Red Sox shortstop, and his bride, Ruth C. Hickey, leave St. Joseph's Church following their wedding in Lynn, Ma., on Jan. 10, 1945. (AP Photo)
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Former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Pesky signs autographs before the game between the Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky smiles as he stands near the Pesky Pole, the foul pole down the right-field line at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006. Pesky was on the field as part of a celebration of his 87th birthday, before a baseball game between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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FILE - In this Sept. 25, 1949, file photo, Boston Red Sox pitcher Mel Parnell, center, is flanked by teammates Ted Williams, left, and Johnny Pesky after defeating the New York Yankees 4-1 in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo, File)
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Former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Pesky throws out the first pitch prior to the Red Sox's baseball game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006. The right-field foul pole is named the "Pesky Pole" after Pesky, whose 87th birthday was being celebrated. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Sports stars gag it up with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as they met at the Kennedy home in Boston for coffee and doughnuts on Oct. 28, 1970. Joe Kapp, Boston Patriot back, holds pumpkin with the senator, (background). In the line are; Ed Westfall of the Bruins, Tommy Heinsohn Coach of the Celtics and Johnny Pesky, former Red Sox star, (l to r) foreground. (AP Photo)
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Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky hits while helping out with fielding drills at the team's spring training baseball practice in Fort Myers, Fla., Friday March 9, 2007. Pesky, 87, made his major league debut in 1942. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Former Boston Red Sox star Johnny Pesky reacts to the cheers of the fans during opening day ceremonies at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, April 10, 2007, prior to the team's home-opener baseball game against the Seattle Mariners. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Red Sox Dom DiMaggio safe at home plate with inside the park home run off the centerfield wall in fifth inning of first Chicago-Boston game at Fenway Park in Boston on June 24, 1951. The throw from White Sox center fielder Jim Busby to shortstop Chico Carrasquel, who relayed to catcher Phil Masi (38), was not in time. Umpire Ed Hurley and Red Sox players Johnny Pesky (6) and Bobby Doerr (1) watch action. (AP Photo/FCC)
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Boston Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky waves to cheering fans as his 88th birthday is celebrated prior to their baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Johnny Pesky, a Louisville alumnus, now Boston Red Sox shortstop, chats with Vernon Stephens, St. Louis Browns shortstop, erstwhile Toledo player, during practice before Sox-browns game at Boston on May 2, 1942. Pesky is making a spot in the sun for himself in Joe Cronin?s former spot, while Stephens is being referred to as the rookie of the year. (AP Photo/PJC)
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Former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Pesky, second from right, holds a No. 6 jersey, along with Red Sox owners John Henry, right, and Tom Werner, second from left, and president/CEO of the Red Sox's Larry Lucchino left, during a news conference before the start of a baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the Red Sox, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, in Boston. The Red Sox announced that the team will retire Pesky's number on the eve of his 89th birthday on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz hugs Johnny Pesky after the ceremonial first pitch during ceremonies retiring ceremony for Pesky's number "6" at Fenway Park in Boston, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 prior to the Red Sox baseball game against the New York Yankees. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Joe Cronin, manager of the Boston Red Sox, is carried through a hotel lobby in Cleveland, Ohio, September 13, 1946, after his team had won the American League pennant by beating the Cleveland Indians 1-0. Carrying the smiling manager are Red Sox players, from left to right: Johnny Pesky, Tom McBride, and Earl Johnson. (AP Photo)
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Boston Red Sox's Johnny Pesky chats with onlookers outside Fenway Park, in Boston, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, while ceremonially starting the diesel engine of the tractor tailor packed with Red Sox supplies and equipment for baseball spring training. Red Sox pitchers and catchers are scheduled for their first workout on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at the teams training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. The truck loaded with equipment departed for Florida Friday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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Former Boston Red Sox baseball player Johnny Pesky speaks to fellow mourners after the funeral service for former Boston Red Sox baseball center fielder Dom DiMaggio at St. Paul Catholic Church in Wellesley, Mass. Monday, May 11, 2009. DiMaggio, 92, died Friday morning with the Red Sox game in the background after a bout with pneumonia. The center fielder was the younger brother of Yankees Hall of Famer, Joe, and played in the same outfield with another major league great, Ted Williams. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky hits a fungo after the irst pitch prior to the Red Sox's baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park in Boston, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009. Pesky celebrated his 90th birthday on Sunday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Bobby Doerr, left, Boston Red Sox second baseman, is congratulated by shortstop Johnny Pesky in the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., July 1, 1951. Doerr got the 2,000th hit of his major league career during the Red Sox and New York Yankees game. The Yankees won 5-2. (AP Photo)
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In this Wednesday, June 9, 2010, photo released by the Boston Red Sox, Red Sox legends Johnny Pesky, left, and Bobby Doerr stand in front of "The Teammates" sculpture, depicting them with teammates Dom DiMaggio and Ted Williams., outside Fenway Park in Boston. The sculpture shows from left, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom DiMaggio,(AP Photos/Boston Red Sox, Brita Meng Outzen) **NO SALES**
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This Feb. 26, 1952, file photo shows Boston Red Sox infielder Johnny Pesky during baseball spring training in Sarasota, Fla. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo, File)
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Boston Red Sox old timer players, from left, Rico Petrocelli, Johnny Pesky and Lou Lucier applaud at a baseball news conference in Boston on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, announcing upcoming events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, the oldest operating Major League Baseball park in the United States. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz, left, team owner John Henry, second from right, and team president and CEO Larry Lucchino, right, applaud as former Red Sox Johnny Pesky (seated) is honored before a baseball game between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston, Saturday, April 14, 2012. The Red Sox will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway's opening when they host the New York Yankees on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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Aviation cadets Ted Williams, left, and Johnny Pesky, center, are welcomed at Bunker Hill, Ind., by Capt. D.D.Gurley,USNR, commanding officer of Bunker Hill Naval ir Station Sept.14,1943. The two, who ran first and second place in 1942 in American League Batting averages when they were with the Boston Red Sox, were beginning their primary flight training. (AP Photo/USN)
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Boston Red Sox catcher Roy Partee slides home with a run in second inning of the World Series game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park in Boston, Ma., Oct. 11, 1946. Catcher Joe Garagiola dives for the runner after taking a throw from center fielder Terry Moore, who handled Don Gutteridge's single. Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky (6) watches as umpire Lee Ballanfant calls play. (AP Photo)
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FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2008, file photo, Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky, center, is flanked by team president Larry Lucchino, left, and owner John Henry as they look past Pesky's Pole where Pesky's No. 6 adorns the upper deck during a ceremony to retire his number prior to a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
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FILE - In this April 20, 2012, file photo, Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky, center, is greeted by former player Nomar Garciaparra, left, and others during a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first regular-season baseball game at Fenway Park prior to the Red Sox taking on the New York Yankees in Boston. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
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Texas Rangers manager Ted Williams and baseball broadcaster Johnny Pesky are shown, June 21, 1972 at Fenway Park, as they talked over memories of the past. Both are former Red Sox players. (AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin)
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FILE - In this April 13, 2012, file photo, Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky tips his cap to the fans prior to Boston's home opener baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park in Boston. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
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Boston Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky gestures to cheering fans as his 88th birthday is celebrated with a cake prior to their baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2006, file photo, Boston Red Sox great Johnny Pesky lifts his cap during a television interview before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Boston. Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in Danvers, Mass. He was 92. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)