Cleveland Sports Legend Herb Score Dies at Age 75

A familiar face - and voice - on the Cleveland sports scene has died today after a long battle with illness. Herb Score, a longtime Indians pitcher and broadcaster, passed away at age 75.

Herbert Jude Score was born June 7, 1933 in Rossdale, New York. He got his start in the world of professional sports as an athlete, coming up as a rookie with the Indians in 1955. He was a standout pitcher on a phenomenal Indians team that included the likes of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon, and went 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA in his rookie year. During his first year in the big leagues, Score also struck out a record 245 batters, a record that stood until 1984.

An unfortunate injury - a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald that shattered numerous bones in his face - completely altered the course of Score's big league career, and he never fully recovered or regained the prowess he once possessed on the pitching mound. He stuck with the Tribe before he was traded to the White Sox, and retired in 1962.

The baseball bug never left Score, and from 1964 to 1967 he served as an announcer on the Indians' television broadcast. In 1968, Score made the transition to radio broadcast, where he remained the Indians radio broadcast announcer until 1997.

Score retired from the broadcasting booth just over a decade ago, but will not soon be forgotten by Cleveland's sports fans. His final MLB game as a play-by-play announcer was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.