Ed Sadowski

Edward Roman Sadowski (January 19, 1931 – November 6, 1993) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played in all or part of four seasons between 1960 and 1966 for the Boston Red Sox (1960), Los Angeles Angels (1961–1963) and Atlanta Braves (1966).

Coming from a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania baseball family, Sadowski was a valuable backup catcher for Russ Nixon in Boston, Earl Averill and Buck Rodgers with the Angels, and Joe Torre in Atlanta.

He was the last Red Sox player to wear uniform #8 before it was issued in 1961 to eventual Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, then a rookie.

Following his playing career, Sadowski served as a minor league manager and pitching instructor for the Montreal Expos.

He died in Garden Grove at age 62, after suffering amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease.