Unselfish Gutteridge never forgot hometown

September 08, 2008 12:08 am

— By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Don Gutteridge thought more about others than himself.
“Every time you talked to Don, you walked away feeling better about yourself,” said Todd Biggs. “Don made sure of that.”
Gutteridge, a Pittsburg native who spent more than 60 years in major league baseball as a player, coach, manager and scout, died Sunday afternoon at his home. At 96, he was the seventh oldest former major league baseball player.
Earlier this year, Biggs and Gutteridge combined to write a book, “Getting Started in Baseball: A Guide to Learning and Teaching Baseball in the Early Years.” The instructional book for Little League players was given to players in the city’s J.L. Hutchinson League.
“Don was all for the kids, I can tell you that,” said Homer Cole, one of Gutteridge’s best friends. “In baseball, in anything.
“I really don’t think Don had an enemy in the world. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.”
Cole and Gutteridge met frequently for breakfast at Otto’s Cafe. Once this summer, they were joined by Pittsburg State University women’s basketball coach Lane Lord.
“Don was ready to pay, and he said, ‘Where’s my ticket, Homer?’” Cole said. “I told him the coach paid for it. Don said, ‘Who can we get tomorrow?’
“That’s how quick, how witty he was. His mind was as sharp as it could be. I’m going to miss him at breakfast.”
Cole was in Branson, Mo., during Gutteridge’s 95th birthday party at Otto’s, but he bought the cake before he left.
“In Branson, I went to a hotel where there was a restaurant on the ninth floor,” he said. “There were all baseball pictures on the wall, and I asked the owner (Jack Hamilton) if he played ball. He said he pitched for the White Sox.
“I told him my best friend managed the White Sox and his birthday is today. I told him Don Gutteridge was the manager, and he said, ‘He managed me.’”
Two years ago, Biggs and his then 9-year-old son, Patrick, took Gutteridge to Kansas City for a Royals game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Sitting there, it wasn’t long before people were all around Don, listening to stories,” Biggs said. “One of the television guys asked Patrick, ‘Do you know how lucky you are?’ Patrick said, ‘I didn’t know he was famous. He’s just our friend.’”
Asked what he remembers most about Gutteridge, Biggs said: “I think of a smiling, energetic, grandfatherly ... just a great man. Don said in his book that he made a promise to God if he let him play pro baseball, he would never embarrass him. What a stellar job Don has done keeping that promise.”
And, Gutteridge never forgot his roots.
“People lose site of the community a lot of the time, move away and never come back,” Biggs said. “Don truly loved Pittsburg. He always told me Pittsburg had done so much for him, and all I could think of was the million of things Don has done for the city of Pittsburg. But that’s just the way he is.”

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