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Former Tigers Manager Ralph Houk Dies At 90

A bad couple of weeks for New York fans just got a little worse, as former Detroit Tigers and Yankees manager Ralph Houk passed away at age 90.

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Houk won 1,619 games as manager of the Tigers, Yankees and Boston Red Sox in his 20-year career. Houk took the helm in Motown from 1974 to 1978, although he didn't produce a winner until his final year.

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Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away last Tuesday, the day of the All-Star Game, just two days after longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard died.

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Former Tigers greats Al Kaline and Willie Horton both shared their thoughts on their former manager, as well as radio broadcaster Jim Price.

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“Ralph was a great baseball man who handled his players well and they played hard for him. He was well respected and a fun guy to be around. I enjoyed playing for him during my last year," Kaline said.

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Willie Horton:

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“I respected Ralph as a manager. We had formed a good relationship after we both retired from the game," Horton said

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Price:

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“People forget that before he was a manager, he was a war hero and he was a catcher for a lot of years,” Tigers radio analyst Jim Price said. “He was a great guy, I knew him very well, and everyone that played for him loved him.”

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Houk went 363-443 in his five years in Detroit.