Boyer, Clete

▪ 2008

Cletis Leroy Boyer  American baseball player

born Feb. 9, 1937 , Cassville, Mo.

died June 4, 2007, Atlanta, Ga.

helped the New York Yankees professional baseball team capture five consecutive pennants (1960–64) and two World Series (1961 and 1962) as the team's acrobatic third baseman. Boyer's diving catches and precision throws from his knees resulted in his holding the World Series record (66) for most career assists by a third baseman. Boyer and two of his brothers entered the professional leagues; Ken (a third baseman) and Cloyd (a pitcher) both played for the St. Louis Cardinals; Clete and Ken were the only siblings to hit home runs in the same World Series game (1964). Boyer later played (1967–71) for the Atlanta Braves and had a banner offensive year in 1967 with 26 home runs and 96 runs batted in. He captured the Gold Glove Award in 1969. Boyer later coached for the Oakland A's and the Yankees.

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