Hundreds remember Jimmy Piersall at memorial service

Fifty-four years ago, Jimmy Piersall hit his 100th major league homer and ran around the bases backward at the old Polo Grounds in New York.

That offbeat and sometimes troubled image would stay with him through his playing days - he was a superb center fielder - then into the famously raucous White Sox broadcast booth with Harry Caray, and beyond into his days as a radio commentator and outfield instructor for the Cubs.

But at a memorial service honoring Piersall on Friday in West Chicago - on the anniversary of that famous homer - family and friends remembered him as a husband, father and grandfather; as a mentor to many young ballplayers; and as a man whose fear of death led him to reconnect with his faith in the last years of his life.

Piersall, 87, died June 3 at a care facility in Wheaton after a monthslong illness.

Speaking Friday before roughly 200 people at Wheaton Bible Church, Chicago broadcast personality and longtime family friend Tom Shaer spoke about Piersall's 17 years in baseball and subsequent careers that kept him close to the game he loved. He also applauded how Piersall overcame his well-known mental health issues that emerged after his rookie season and were the focus of a book he liked - "Fear Strikes Out" - and a movie he didn't.

"Jimmy Piersall was a winner. Yes, he won Gold Gloves. Yes, he won spots on All-Star teams. But he was a winner at life," Shaer said. "You just couldn't keep James Anthony Piersall down. It simply was not possible."

Piersall wanted everyone else to be winners, too, a trait that became apparent when he became an outfield coach for the Cubs in the late 1980s.

Former major leaguer and longtime White Sox radio and television analyst Darren Jackson spoke about how Piersall would invite young outfielders to a special dinner every spring and what an influence he had on the young group.

"I've heard some of the things he said before he was Christian," Jackson said with a smile. "But he was a great instructor, to say the least. We used to sit out there and he would tell us stories from when he played, and it influenced us and made us want to be as good as he was."

Former Gov. Pat Quinn, a lifelong White Sox fan, called Piersall a "fan's advocate" and praised the way he helped bring mental illness to the forefront in his early playing days.

"He played the game the way the fans wanted the game to be played. He never gave anything less than 100 percent," Quinn said.

Keith Lindley, a longtime neighbor of Piersall's in the Wheaton Oaks townhouse community, told of how their friendship took a spiritual turn in 2009 when Piersall's health began to decline. Lindley was with Piersall at Central DuPage Hospital one morning when the Rev. John White of Wheaton Bible Church stopped in to see him.

"That's when we learned (Jimmy) was afraid to die. And he was in pain," Lindley said. "(White) asked Jimmy if he could pray for him, and he said, 'Oh. Could you?' And that began our journey talking about the end of life and what happens when our eyes close for the last time."

In the following years, Piersall and Lindley studied scriptures and Lindley helped Piersall overcome his "problem with the forgiveness of sin by God."

Eventually, on Dec. 12, 2012, Lindley said, Piersall bowed his head and prayed, for the first time, for forgiveness. He later joined the church.

Even in prayer, however, baseball was never far from Piersall's mind.

"About six weeks ago, I was praying with Jimmy and I got to the end of the prayer and I said, 'Amen,' and Jimmy's head was still bowed and he said, 'And I never dropped a fly ball.'" Lindley said. "I told (Piersall's wife) Jan that and she said, 'That's so Jimmy. I'm going to put that on his gravestone.'"

Outside the church, Cubs Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams said he respected the way Piersall played the game and mentored young players such as Jackson.

"He made people enjoy themselves and he made people laugh," Williams said. "He had a great time playing the game and entertaining people."

Williams said he visited Piersall about six weeks ago.

"We just sat around and talked baseball, and I think that really lifted his soul that day," Williams said. "We didn't play against each other very often, aside from a few All-Star Games, but two old guys sharing stories about playing major league baseball was cool. I'm glad I got to share that with him."