Bobby Bonds

American athlete, pro baseball player and father of noted baseball player Barry Bonds. Bonds played for the San Francisco Giants (1968–1974), New York Yankees (1975), California Angels (1976–1977), Chicago White Sox (1978), Texas Rangers (1978), Cleveland Indians (1979), St. Louis Cardinals (1980) and Chicago Cubs (1981), then he retired from the sport. He was on the All-Star teams in 1971, 1973, and 1975. Bonds made his major league debut with a grand slam on 25 June 1968. With his homer, he became the first player in the 20th century to send all team-mates on all three bases racing for home plate. The only other time a player hit a grand slam in his first game in 1898. Bonds hitting notwithstanding, he was known as a terrific defensive fielder, playing right field most of his career. He played for the San Francisco Giants early in his career and from 1969-1974, topped 100 runs in each season. During that 5-year period, he was considered the fastest player in the National League and came in first in that league in runs scored, second in doubles, extra-base hits, and total bases, third in steals, games played, and at-bats. He was named Most Valuable Player in 1973 and won the coveted Golden Glove award three times. Bonds hit his 300th homer on May 3, 1979. He and his wife had three children of whom the oldest is Barry Bonds, noted baseball player. He underwent heart surgery in July 2003. Bonds died of complications from lung cancer and a brain tumour at age 57 on 23 August 2003 in San Carlos, California. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less