Curt Blefary

Curtis Le Roy Blefary
Born: July 5, 1943 in Brooklyn, N.Y. 
Died: Jan. 29, 2001 in Ompano Beach, Florida
Debut: 1965 | Pos: OF
Ht: 6'2" | Wt: 195 | B: L | T: R

>> Visit the Curt Blefary biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Curt Blefary, who was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1965, died on January 29, 2001, in Ompano Beach, Fla.  He was 57.

In eight seasons in the major leagues, Blefary hit .237 in his major league career with 112 home runs and 382 RBIs.  He had been suffering from chronic pancreatitis and other ailments.

Blefary was signed originally by the New York Yankees, but the Orioles grabbed him from first-year waivers when the Yankees left him unprotected in 1963.  He was a minor league standout in 1964 with 31 home runs at Rochester.

Blefary debuted with Baltimore in 1965 and hit .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs in his rookie season to win the AL ROY honor.  In his first full game in an Orioles uniform, Blefary hit two home runs.

In 1966, he hit 23 home runs and drove in 84 runs for a Baltimore team that won the World Series.  He had 1 hit in 14 at-bats in the series.

Defense, however, was not one of his stronger areas and the Orioles even tried him out at catcher.  On April 27, 1968, he was the catcher for Tom Phoebus' no hitter against Boston.  He was traded that December to Houston for pitcher Mike Cuellar.

His career included stops with the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.

Following his retirement from baseball, he own a lounge in Dania, Fla.