Staub was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1986; when the Mets won the World Series that year, Staub received a ring from general manager Frank Cashen. In 2004, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Niagara University. Jesuit High School, where Rusty graduated, annually gives the Rusty Staub Award to the leader of the varsity baseball team. In 2006, Staub was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and six years later, in 2012, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. On May 26, 2012, the New York Mets featured a Rusty Staub promotional giveaway bobblehead as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. On April 4, 1986, Staub established the Rusty Staub Foundation to provide educational scholarships for youth and fight hunger. In 1985, Staub founded the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, which supports the families of New York City police officers, firefighters, Port Authority police, and emergency medical personnel who were killed in the line of duty. During its first 15 years of existence, the fund raised and distributed $11 million for families of policemen and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Since September 11, 2001, Staub's organization has received contributions in excess of $112 million, and it has played a vital role in helping many families affected by the attack. Staub went on to work as a television announcer for Mets' ballgames from 1986 to 1995. Staub owned and ran two restaurants in Manhattan. Rusty's (at 73rd and Third) opened in 1977, and another Rusty's on Fifth opened in 1989. The 73rd Street Rusty's used to have an annual rib-eating contest, won by Brooke Shields in 1981. Both have since closed. After his playing career, Staub also served as a goodwill ambassador for the New York Mets and was a vice president for the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, serving as the chairman of the annual Legends for Youth Dinner. In July 2006, Staub teamed with Mascot Books to publish his first children's book, Hello, Mr. Met. Staub was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2018. Illness and death Staub suffered a heart attack and subsequently went into cardiac arrest in 2015 while on a flight from Ireland to the USA. Two doctors assisted in resuscitating Staub. The flight turned around and landed in Shannon,