known for his defense; managed Senators in 1921. July 4 – Walter Schmidt, 86, catcher who played in 766 games over ten seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1916–1924) and St. Louis Cardinals (1925). July 6 – Joe E. Brown, 81, comedian, actor (Some Like It Hot, the baseball-themed films Alibi Ike and Fireman, Save My Child, and dozens of others) and passionate fan who spent the 1953 season on the Yankees' play-by-play broadcast team; his son Joe L. was the longtime general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. July 6 – Wickey McAvoy, 78, catcher who played in 235 games for the Philadelphia Athletics (1913–1915, 1917–1919). July 7 – Paul Musser, 84, pitcher for the Washington Senators (1912) and Boston Red Sox (1919). July 11 – George Edmondson, 77, pitcher who worked in a total of eight games for 1922–1924 Cleveland Indians. July 12 – Billy Urbanski, 70, shortstop for the Boston Braves from 1931 to 1936. July 17 – Evar Swanson, 70, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds (1929–1930) and Chicago White Sox (1932–1934); swiped 33 bases in 1929—but caught stealing 20 times, which led the National League. August August 7 – Wilbur Cooper, 81, first left-handed pitcher in National League history to win over 200 games (with 216 career triumphs); won 202 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1912 and 1924. August 13 – Alva Jo Fischer, 46, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher and shortstop who earned inductions into several baseball halls of fame. August 13 – Ernest Smith, 73, outfielder/catcher who played in the Negro leagues between 1937 and 1942. August 14 – Claude Willoughby, 74, pitcher who spent all but nine games of his 219-game MLB career as a member of terrible Philadelphia Phillies teams (1925–1930). August 21 – Ira Hutchinson, 62, pitcher who appeared in 209 games for four MLB clubs, principally the Boston Bees/Braves, between 1933 and 1945; longtime minor-league manager. August 22 – George Cutshaw, 86, shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Superbas/Robins (1912–1917), Pittsburgh Pirates (1918–1921) and Detroit Tigers (1922–1923) who excelled on defense. August 27 – Herman Layne, 72, outfielder and pinch runner who appeared in 11 games for the 1927 Pirates September September 5 – Chick Davies, 81, pitcher in 46 MLB career games for 1914–1915 Philadelphia Athletics and 1925–1926 New York Giants. September 5 – Jack Fournier, 83, first baseman who played 1,530 games for five teams—principally the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn