Longtime radio and television voice of the Cleveland Indians, Mike Hegan, passes away at the age of 71.

Hegan was a longtime player and the son of former 14-year Indians catcher Jim Hegan. The younger Hegan was born in Cleveland and attended St. Ignatius High School before playing 12 seasons in the Major Leagues with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics. He made one All-Star trip in 1969 with the Pilots and was a member of the 1972 World Champion A’s team.

Following his playing career, he was a broadcaster for the Brewers from 1977 to 1988 before returning home to Cleveland, where he joined the Indians family and worked for the club until his death.

Also on this date in Tribe history:

1989 – Billy Martin, long-time Major League manager (most notably with the New York Yankees) and a member of the Cleveland Indians in 1959, dies in a car accident near his home in New York. He is buried less than 150 feet away from the most famous of Yankee legends, Babe Ruth, at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.