Article:Players from the Past: Lyman Bostock

Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr.



Born: November 22, 1950 Died: September 23, 1978 Batted: Left Threw: Right Outfielder MLB debut April 8, 1975 Final game September 23, 1978 Teams: Minnesota Twins (1975-1977) California Angels (1978)

Lyman Bostock Jr. was born to be a baseball player. Born on November 22, 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Lyman Bostock Sr, a star first baseman who had a 17 year career in the Negro Leagues. Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970 Amateur Draft while a senior at Manuel Arts High School in Los Angeles, Bostock instead chose college. Bostock went on to be a two time All-Conference outfielder during his two seasons at Cal State Northridge, leading the Matadors to a second place finish in the 1972 Division II College World Series in the process. Drafted by the Twins in the 26th round of the 1972 draft, Bostock chose to sign, and was assigned to Class A Charlotte.

Following additional minor league stops in Orlando (1973, and Tacoma, (1975), Bostock made the Majors with the Twins in 1975, hitting .282 in 98 games. Becoming a full time player in 1976, Bostock finished fourth in the American League batting race in 1976, and finished second to Twins teammate and future Hall of Famer Rod Carew in 1977, hitting .336 and amassing 199 hits.

Bostock was granted free agency following the 1977 season, and signed a five year, $2.25 million dollar deal with the California Angels, which made him the third highest player in the game. Bostock's first expense after he signed wasn't a new house or a fancy car, he donated $10,000 to his former church in Birmingham to build a new Sunday School facility.



Possibly burdened by the weight of his new contract, Bostock's 1978 season began slowly, at the end of April he was hitting just .150, and was mired in a 2-39 slump. Almost apologetic with his initial inability to live up to the deal, Bostock met with Angels owner Gene Autry and attempted to return his salary for the entire month. Autry, naturally, refused, so Bostock decided he would donate the money to charity.

Bostock played hard throughout the summer, as the season wore on, his averaged climbed steadily. With a week left in the season, Bostock's averaged edged past the .290 mark, giving him an outside chance at .300. On Saturday afternoon, September 23rd, Bostock went 2-4 in a 5-4 loss to the White Sox in Chicago. As was his custom while in Chicago, Bostock made the 20 mile trip to nearby Gary, Indiana to visit his uncle, Thomas Turner. Bostock, Turner, and Turner's two goddaughters, Barbara Smith and Joan Hawkins went out to dinner, with Turner driving his Buick. Bostock got into the back seat, on the passenger side, sitting next to Barbara Smith.

As the car approached a traffic signal, Ms. Smith noticed a car pulling along side, and recognized the driver as her estranged husband, Leonard Smith. Barbara yelled to her godfather to get away, he took off, running two additional stop lights in the process. Approaching a busy intersection at Fifth and Jackson Streets in Gary, Turner was forced by traffic to stop. Smith pulled his car alongside, and approached the car carrying a shotgun. Raising the gun, Smith fired one shot into the car, striking Bostock in the left temple. With Bostock bleeding profusely and slumped on the floor, Turner sped to a local hospital, where attempts to save him were unsuccessful. Two hours later, Lyman Bostock was pronounced dead at age 27.



Simultaneously, in Anaheim, over 45,000 people were streaming out of Anaheim Stadium following a concert by Van Halen. As people began reaching their cars and turning on the radio, they were greeted by the news that their star player had died, turning a rowdy, happy crowd into a sad and subdued one.

Back in Gary, Leonard Smith was arrested for Bostock's murder. His lawyer claimed insanity in his defense, claiming Barbara Smith's infidelity had driven her husband insane. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, the second found Smith not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed for psychiatric treatment. After seven months, his doctors deemed him to be no longer mentally ill, and he was released. Counting jail time while awaiting both trials and his time in treatment, Smith's total sentence for the killing amounted to 21 months.

Gifted with a smooth, elegant swing, his manager with the Angels, Gene Mauch, compared Bostock to Pete Rose. Bostock was also an outstanding centerfielder, his seventeen putouts in a doubleheader against the Red Sox on May 25, 1977 is an American League record, as is his 12 putouts in game one. Bostock also hit for the cycle on [cycle July 24, 1976, against the White Sox.

source source