Less than one week ago, Bob Forsch threw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the World Series in St. Louis.

Today, the third-winningest pitcher in Cardinals franchise history is gone at 61, after collapsing Thursday night at his home near Tampa, Florida.

Forsch, who spent 15 seasons with the Cardinals from 1974-88, won 163 games for the club, ranking him third behind Bob Gibson (251) and Jesse "Pop" Haines (210). Employed as a minor league pitching coach in the Cincinnati organization for the last few years, Forsch was on three Cardinals World Series teams here under manager Whitey Herzog in 1982, 1985 and 1987.

Forsch spent nearly all of his career with the Cardinals before going to the Astros for a short spell. He pitched two no-hitters, in 1978 and '83. He did not pitch well in the postseason, with a 5.79 career ERA in a dozen October appearances (including five starts).

Bob's older brother Ken also pitched in the National League for many years, but they never faced off as starters. By the time Bob established himself as a starter, Ken was mostly a reliever; later Ken started again, but by then he was in the American League. Between them, Bob and Ken combined for 282 wins in the majors.