(and also when he was managing the Orioles in 1993). His uniform number 26 was retired by the Rangers on August 5, 2005. It was only the second number retired by the Rangers, following the 34 of Nolan Ryan. During the 2005 season, a commemorative patch was worn on all Ranger uniforms and a sign was hung on the outfield wall in his honor. Prior to Game 3 of the 2010 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, his eight-year-old grandson, Johnny Oates II, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Oates was posthumously inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame on August 7, 2010. That same year, Buck Showalter had honored his friend Oates by choosing the number '26' as he took over management of the Baltimore Orioles. Oates was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame (the state-wide organization) in 2003. Personal life Oates was considering returning to managing when he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme. Doctors gave Oates only about a year to live, but he survived for over three years—enough time to attend his daughter's wedding, his grandchild's birth, and his induction into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame at The Ballpark in Arlington. During the ceremony at The Ballpark, he was given a standing ovation as Oates, weakened by the cancer and its treatment, required the help of his wife Gloria and a cane to walk. Oates succumbed to the tumor at age 58 at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond on Christmas Eve 2004. References External links Johnny Oates at (SABR Baseball BioProject) Johnny Oates at Deadball Era Virginia Tech Hall of Fame (1983 Inductees) USA Today obituary 1946 births 2004 deaths Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles managers Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from North Carolina Bluefield Orioles players Chicago Cubs coaches Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Virginia Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball managers with retired numbers Manager of the Year Award winners Miami Marlins (FSL) players Nashville Sounds managers New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees players People from Sylva, North Carolina Philadelphia Phillies players Rochester Red Wings managers Rochester Red