Podres pitched Brooklyn Dodgers to only Series title
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- Johnny Podres, an All-Star who pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title in 1955, has died. He was 75.
A spokesman for Glens Falls Hospital confirmed Podres' death Sunday but said he didn't know any details.
The left-hander was picked for four All-Star games and was the first Most Valuable Player in World Series history. He became a hero to every baseball fan in Brooklyn when the Dodgers ended decades of frustration by beating the Yankees to win the World Series.
It was the first time a team had won a best-of-seven World Series after losing the first two games, and it was Brooklyn's only World Series victory. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.
The Dodgers lost the first two games of at Yankee Stadium, then the Dodgers won the third 8-3 at Ebbets Field. Podres, going the distance on his 23rd birthday, scattered seven hits.
In the climactic seventh game, at Yankee Stadium, Podres shut out New York 2-0 on eight hits, relying on his fastball and a deceptive changeup.
As the story goes, Podres told his teammates to get him just one run and the Dodgers would win Game 7. They got him two, and the franchise celebrated its first and only championship while playing in Brooklyn.
Podres' career spanned 15 years with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. He retired in 1969 at age 36 with a lifetime record of 148-116.
Podres also served as a pitching coach when he was older, helping develop Frank Viola when he was with the Minnesota Twins and Curt Schilling when he was on the Philadelphia Phillies staff.
Jane Loevinger Weissman
ST. LOUIS -- Psychologist Jane Loevinger Weissman, who wrote several books and articles on her research into character development, has died. She was 89.
Weissman, of St. Louis, died Jan. 4, her family said. She died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and a cause of death was not disclosed.
Weissman worked under her maiden name, Loevinger. She elaborated on Sigmund Freud's functionalist version of the ego. Her theory of personality stressed the gradual internalization of social rules and maturing conscience for the origin of a person's decisions.
Weissman married Samuel Weissman in 1943. He worked as one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project and died last year.
After World War II, Jane Weissman worked for many years in various research positions around St. Louis and developed a widely used sentence-completion test from which a theory of character development emerged.
She was one of the first in psychological research to focus on women as a demographic. In 2002, The National Institute for Mental Health funded a study on her research with an objective test of mothers' attitudes.
Angel Gonzalez
MADRID, Spain -- Angel Gonzalez, one of Spain's most prominent poets and member of a literary generation known for its opposition to the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco, has died. He was 82.
Gonzalez died Saturday morning after being hospitalized with pneumonia. His remains were cremated Sunday after a ceremony at Madrid's Almudena Cemetery.
Gonzalez was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy, the prestigious, official watchdog of the Spanish language, and won awards that included the Asturias Prize for Letters in 1985.
His poems addressed issues like freedom and solidarity, and like many intellectuals under the Franco regime, Gonzalez eventually left Spain.
In the 1970s he accepted a teaching position at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and stayed there until retiring in 1993, although he frequently traveled back to Spain.
Francis Childs
MANCHESTER, Iowa -- Francis Childs, known as Iowa's "Corn King," has died. He was 68.
Francis Childs died Wednesday, according to The Mitchell Family Funeral Home. No cause of death was immediately available.
Childs set a number of world records for non-irrigated corn yields, including 442 bushels per acre in 2002. He was a six-time winner of the National Corn Growers Association's contest.
His achievements were featured in several publications, including The Wall Street Journal.
Besides farming, Childs also liked tractor pulling and snowmobile racing. He owned a snowmobile shop for more than 20 years, according to an obituary published by the funeral home.
Donald Burton
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Donald Burton, a British actor and husband of Carroll Baker, has died. He was 73.
Burton died Dec. 8 of emphysema at his home in this desert town south of Palm Springs, said his widow, who starred in "Baby Doll" and "The Carpetbaggers."
Burton was born Feb. 10, 1934, in Norwich, England. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. For many years he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in such plays as "Hamlet," "Henry IV, Part Two" and "The War of the Roses."
His contemporary plays included "Educating Rita" and "How the Other Half Loves." He also worked in television, with such shows as "Upstairs, Downstairs," "The Duchess of Duke Street," "Fraud Squad" and "Public Eye."
-- Associated Press