Harmon Killebrew To Be Remembered By Friends, Family, Twins

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Harmon Killebrew Memorial And Funeral Services Planned

Harmon Killebrew, the Twins Hall of Fame slugger, who passed away yesterday at the age of 74, will be honored by memorial and funeral services and also by the Twins at Target Field, according to mlb.com.

Killebrew last lived in the Phoenix area, and there will be a funeral service for him at Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria, Ariz. on Friday at 10 a.m. MST. This service will be open to the public. Then, Killebrew's family will have a private burial service for him in his hometown of Payette, Idaho, where he will be laid to rest on Monday.

The Twins will honor their greatest player in an on-field ceremony Thursday night at Target Field in Minneapolis, also open to the public. The Twins are on the road until next Monday and it would seem likely that they will do something else to honor Killebrew when they return from their current road trip.

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Harmon Killebrew Tributes Pouring In From Around The Internet

Harmon Killebrew was a quiet, beloved legend of baseball, and it was almost impossible to find someone who would speak ill about him while he was alive. So you'd better believe that there will be nice things said about him after he passed away. Here's a roundup of some of the earliest tributes:

Jim Caple of ESPN.com took the time to talk to Twins legends like Paul Molitor and Bert Blyleven about Killebrew:

Take the Killebrew Drive exit to the Mall of America, built on the original site of old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Park your car, enter the mall, go inside to the amusement park at the center, look up three stories to the southeast wall and you'll see the seat attached above the Paul Bunyan Log Chute ride. It's an appropriate spot. Harmon Killebrew, Paul Bunyan … both strong men who produced prodigious feats while swinging a hunk of wood.

Bob Nightengale of the USA Today recounts a time when he sat with Killebrew on an airplane and talked about the steroid era. He also included a touching quote from current Twins player Michael Cuddyer:

"I didn't know him as a baseball player," Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer said, "but I've known him as a human being, and he's as genuine as anyone I've ever met. "He's probably the top three people I've ever met in my life. Definitely three most influential, next to my parents. … "

Hal Bodley of MLB.com relays one of Killebrew's favorite anecdotes:

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard," he'd say. "Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass.' 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply. 'We're raising boys.'"

And Reuters collects reactions from individuals around the baseball world, including Rod Carew and Bud Selig.

Perhaps the most touching tribute, though, doesn't have to do with the written word. Underneath home plate at Target Field tonight, there will be a simple way to get Harmon Killebrew on the field one last time: a picture of Killer doing what he did best

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Harmon Killebrew Was Gentlest Of Sluggers

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Harmon Killebrew: Through The Eyes Of Sports Illustrated

Before the internet and 24-hour sports channels, there weren’t a lot of options for national sports news. So when a baseball legend like Harmon Killebrew passes, it’s illuminative to see how he was profiled in the sports magazine of record, Sports Illustrated, using the amazing S.I. vault to look through the articles from the ‘50s and 60’s.

June 1, 1959 - The introduction.

Until May, Killebrew's performance had never matched the elegance of his name. He had been a professional for almost five years, with nothing to show for it except the modest bonus he got for signing with Washington and the knowledge that major league pitchers are better than those around Payette, Idaho, his home town.

April 8, 1963 - The quiet superstar

In any city Harmon Clayton Killebrew would have an almost infinite capacity for not causing a stir. In 1959 Killebrew was nicknamed "Killer" by desperate sportswriters—sportswriters who also have come up with "Charmin' Harmon," "Harmin' Harmon," and "Bombin' Harmon," depending on the circumstances. The term Killer eventually died of its own silliness, and from being good-naturedly abused by Harmon's teammates. You can't look an abstraction of amiability in the eye and call it Killer, day after day, no matter how hard it hits. But the name persists in some newspapers, and this may be because reporters trying to make colorful and intimate copy out of Harmon have discovered that he is a killer indeed.

August 3, 1970 - "Spreading idly into middle age."

Squat, bald and 34; bottom-heavy, thick across the midsection and chronically aggravated by an old soreness in his right knee, he is a picture of the American spectator spreading idly into middle age. He should be at home, sprawled in an overstuffed chair, wearing a fleshed-out T shirt and watching ball games on the tube. Instead, Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins, his short, wispy sideburns showing flecks of gray where they creep out from under his batting helmet, has matured into the most dangerous all-round hitter in the American League.

November 8, 1999 - Retirement

Killebrew travels the nation as a spokesman for Smith's company, speaking to doctors and visiting hospice patients. "Hospice is such a tremendous thing," Killebrew says. "Patients seem to reach an inner peace. Society doesn't like to deal with death, but it's a natural part of living."

And if that whole reading thing isn’t your favorite, you can always watch Harmon Killebrew video all day in tribute. Go for the "Home Run Derby" episodes, and stay for the ... no, you can probably spend a whole day just on the "Home Run Derby" episodes.

Rest in peace, Harmon.

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Harmon Killebrew's Cancer Progresses; Hall-Of-Famer Releases Final Statement

Harmon Killebrew, the former slugger for the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December of last year. On Friday, he released a statement indicating that his battle is coming to an end, and that he is entering hospice care for his final days. From the Twins' official site:

It is with profound sadness that I share with you that my continued battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end. With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure.

The 74-year-old Killebrew is an 11-time All Star, and the AL MVP winner in 1969. The Hall-of-Famer currently ranks 11th on the all-time home run list with 573. And though he was one of baseball's brightest stars, he also might have one of the quietest. When asked by a reporter for a 1963 Sports Illustrated article what his hobbies were, he thought for a while before responding:

"Just washing the dishes, I guess," says Harmon, trying to help.

Killebrew, who played the outfield, first, and third over his career, is known for not only his home runs, but his long home runs, which he generated from a stocky 5'11" frame. Target Field commemorates a 1967 home run with a statue that is 520 feet from home plate, the distance the home run was estimated to travel.