Thursday sports news

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 15, 2015

Former University of Oregon baseball All-American Earl Averill Jr., died Wednesday in Tacoma, Wash. He was 83.

Averill played for the Ducks from 1951-53, hitting better than ,300 each year. He went on to play seven major league seasons with the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. He is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, and his father, Earl Averill Sr., was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after a 13-year career, mostly with the Indians.

Averill Jr., was a big fan of the Seattle Mariners, who honored him with a moment of silence before their home game Thursday versus the Boston Red Sox.