Former Oriole Milt Pappas Dies At 76

CHICAGO (AP) -- Milt Pappas, who won 209 games during his 17-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs, has died. He was 76.

His widow, Judi Pappas, said Pappas died Tuesday morning of natural causes at his home in the northern Illinois community of Beecher.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander was part of the Baby Birds staff in Baltimore in 1964, a young rotation with great promise. He was an All-Star by 1962 and started the Midsummer Classic in 1965, months before he and two other players were dealt to Cincinnati for future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson in one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. He was sent to Atlanta two years later and to Chicago in 1970.

His best year with the Cubs was in 1972. Pappas went 17-7 and came within one disputed pitch of throwing a perfect game when he walked a San Diego batter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before finishing with a no-hitter. He disputed the calls by umpire Bruce Froemming for years.