leagues. August 17 – Jim Murray, 79, sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times'' from 1961–1998, who earned a Pulitzer Prize and was named the nation's best sportswriter 14 times. August 20 – Gene Host, 65, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in 1956 and the Kansas City Athletics in 1957. August 20 – Fred Sington, 88, outfielder who played from 1934 to 1939 for the Washington Senators and Brooklyn Dodgers. August 22 – Minoru Murayama, 61, Hall of Fame NPB pitcher and manager who played for the Osaka Tigers/Hanshin Tigers from 1959 to 1972 and managed them from 1970 to 1972 and again from 1988 to 1989. September September 7 – Earl Harrist, 79, pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and the Detroit Tigers in five seasons between 1945 and 1953. September 9 – Jerry Zimmerman, 63, catcher who played in 483 games, mostly as a backup, for the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins from 1961 to 1968, then a coach for the Montreal Expos and Twins for 12 more seasons. September 11 – Larry Bradford, 48, pitcher for the Atlanta Braves during three seasons between 1977 and 1981. September 17 – Slim Emmerich, 78, pitcher for the New York Giants from 1945–1946. September 17 – Chet Hoff, 107, pitcher for the New York Highlanders and St. Louis Browns, who became the longest-lived major league player. September 22 – Billy Williams, 68, National League umpire from August 14, 1963 to June 29, 1987, when a broken leg ended his career; worked in 3,432 league games, four NL Championship Series, three World Series and three All-Star games. September 30 – Dan Quisenberry, 45, All-Star relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals who led the AL in saves a record five times, posted the first 40-save season in history, and held an American League career record from 1987 to 1992, while ending twice as a Cy Young runnerup. October October 2 – Gene Autry, 91, owner of the Angels since their formation in 1961 who hoped in vain for the team's first pennant, watching the team fall achingly short three times. October 4 – Lee Grissom, 90, All-Star pitcher who played from 1934 through 1941 for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies; brother of Marv Grissom. October 6 – Mark Belanger, 54, All-Star shortstop and eight-time Gold Glove winner for