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Baseball Hall Of Famer Don Sutton, Formerly Of Molino, Has Passed Away
January 19, 2021
Hall of Fame pitcher and former Molino resident Don Sutton has died at age 75.
“My dad passed away in his sleep last night,” Don Sutton’s son Daron Sutton said Tuesday afternoon on Twitter. “He worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever known and he treated those he encountered with great respect…and he took me to work a lot. For all these things, I am very grateful. Rest In Peace.”
Sutton attended Tate High School where played basketball, football and led the Aggies baseball teams to two state championship games, one ending with a win. He was the Tate High Class of 1963’s “Most Likely to Succeed”.
During his career as a right-handed pitcher, he won 324 games, including 58 shutouts and earned the seventh place spot on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with 3,574. Sutton played over a decade with the LA Dodgers, and also played for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s and California Angels before returning for one last season with the Dodgers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
“My mother used to worry about my imaginary friends ‘cause I would be out in the yard playing ball,” Don Sutton said in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1998. “She worried because she didn’t know a Mickey, or a Whitey, or a Yogi, or a Moose, or an Elston, but I played with them every day.”
Sutton also had a successful broadcasting career, working for major networks including TBS and NBC, along with the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals.
The Don Sutton Ballpark in Molino is named in his honor, and a portion of Highway 29 in Molino is known as the Don Sutton Highway. There is also a display devoted to Sutton in the Molino Museum in the Molino Community Complex.
“My heart is broken, hearing of Don Sutton’s passing,” longtime WEAR 3 sportscaster Dan Shugart posted on Titter. “Our first Hall-of-Famer, but so much more. I’ve never met anyone more gracious with his time nor more generous with his praise for that young sportscaster way back when. I have few heroes. I lost one today.”
Sutton was born April 2, 1945, in Clio, Alabama.
Pictured below: The display devoted to Don Sutton in Molino Museum and photos of Don Sutton will his son Daron Sutton. Photos by NorthEscambia.com and others, click to enlarge.
Comments
12 Responses to “Baseball Hall Of Famer Don Sutton, Formerly Of Molino, Has Passed Away”
ron and Glenda . Sorry to hear of Dons passing. Don would pick me up at Tiptons in Cottage Hill and drop me off after the games at Tate. Where ever I was in the world I followed his career
Don Sutton was the last of a dying breed. You could hear his love of the game in his voice. He was truly a gentleman and a scholar. I’m already missing his broadcasts
Don was a great man when he was on tv caling the games he put me on tv saying we had a big day in molino fl. today harold holder old milk cow had twin calves
I am not originally from Molino, though I lived there almost 20 years. Still in the area for over another 20 plus. I am finding it hard to comprehend why there are not more responses to his passing. Isaiah 57:1 May he rest in Peace.
Glenda and Ron, prayers go out to you and your family. Don was truly a blessing to me. Wonderful memories growing up and later on. One of my fondest memories is when I was stationed near Philly your mom called me and said that Don and the Dodgers were going to be in Philly and Don would love to see someone from home.
I went to see him and he was happy to see someone from home. He asked me to come down to the locker room after the game and I did. He introduced me to Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Claude Osteen, Don Drysdale, and Sandy Koufax. This I will always remember. May God’s love, comfort, and peace be with you. God holds him in His hands, we hold him in hearts.
I met Don when I was in the seventh grade, Don was in the 5th. We became friends as we were neighbors when I lived on the river at the old Fairgrounds. Several of us use to play ball by the Molino Methodist Church, including Jackie McCaskill, Louie Diamond and others. Don and up I use to spend time fishing together on the river. Like his parents, he was a very very nice individual. God Bless my friend. R.I.P.
I did not know Don, though I did meet him, and my daughter had her picture made with him when very young at the then, Molino Ballpark. His mom was one of my first friends when we moved to Molino from Virginia. We were going to start a small local newspaper but, sadly, her life was cut short. It is hard to believe that another legend is gone. My condolences to his friends and family.
Time has flown by, hometown Hall of Famer gone, rest in peace, God Bless in Jesus name his soul, family and friends…
God blessed Don and his family and we never forget Don Sutton #Hero
Our prayers and condolences to the Sutton family in the loss of such a fine person as Don. We will always remember the Sutton family in Molino, Howard, Lillian, Don, Ron and Glenda. We wish them peace and contentment. The Freisinger Family
Rest In Peace Don. I’m still a big Dodgers Fan because of you.
We lost one of the great ones today. I was too young to remember much from his pitching days, but listened to him call hundreds of games on TV and radio. What a class act. Rest In Peace, Don! You are missed already!!