Doug Griffin, a Gold Glove award-winning second baseman and member of the 1975 American League championship team, has died in California after a lengthy illness, the Red Sox said. He was 69.

Griffin helped Boston reach the World Series in 1975, serving as the team's everyday second baseman prior to the Red Sox acquiring Denny Doyle from the California Angels a day before the then-June 15 Trade Deadline.

Far from a superstar, Griffin isn't a name Red Sox fans of a certain age have forgotten. He was acquired by Boston as part of the trade that sent Tony Conligiaro to the Angels, but he might be best known for being knocked unconscious by a Nolan Ryan fastball. The beaning left him with temporary hearing loss and a concussion.