“Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?” ~ CHICAGO.
Yesterday, at the expense of some unintentional error in the miscalculation of his death date, we wrote an obituary column for the late and great Astros reliever, Dave Smith, by about twelve years. We did so with the bedeviling help of the Houston Chronicle’s online edition, which somehow managed to run the ancient story of Smith’s December 17, 2008 death as though it were fresh, overnight news. The truth was all there in the fine print, but you had to read the piece with forensic caution to avoid the easy misunderstanding. Smith’s death had not occurred two days ago, as we first reported, He had breathed his last on December 17, 2008, a full 9 years and six weeks ago – or thereabouts.
In Dave Smith’s honor, the thought occurred to me that it might be fun to give more fans a chance to see if they recall when ten now deceased high profile Astros passed away. One is a virtual gimme after yesterday. In fact, the quiz derives its name in his honor.
The Dave Smith Deceased Houston MLB Player Death Date Quiz covers only ten former players, including Dave Smith. It lists each player, the years he played in Houston, and then a random column of death dates that each fit one player alone on the list. Restricting yourself to this information alone, simply use the far right open column to record your answers in the same row you find the player it matches as his date of death. Then check out your score on Baseball Reference.com.
You are free, of course, to report, or not, here, but we would love to hear from you. Had I been taking this quiz blindly I don’t think I could have done any better than 50%, if that much. I didn’t grow up in “The Land of Happy Death Day” either.
In fact, if the end of the world were to come any time soon, I will be hoping it holds off until we find out if the Astros can repeat their World Series charm in 2018!
The Dave Smith Deceased Houston MLB Player Death Date Quiz
| # | Houston RIPs | Years Here | Random Death Dates | Right Death Date |
| 1 | Dave Smith | 1980-1990 | NOV 21, 2015 | ? |
| 2 | Nellie Fox | 1964-65 | SEP 14, 1967 | ? |
| 3 | Jim Umbricht | 1962-1963 | OCT 10, 2004 | ? |
| 4 | Jose Lima | 1997-2001 | JAN 05, 1975 | ? |
| 5 | John Bateman | 1963-1968 | APR 08, 1964 | ? |
| 6 | Turk Farrell | 1962-1967 | DEC 17, 2008 | ? |
| 7 | Walt Bond | 1964-1965 | MAY 23, 2010 | ? |
| 8 | Ken Caminiti | 87-94, 99-00 | JUN 10, 1977 | ? |
| 9 | Ken Johnson | 1962-1965 | DEC 01, 1975 | ? |
| 10 | Don Wilson | 1966-1974 | DEC 03, 1996 | ? |
Have A Nice Weekend, Everybody!
********************
Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
February 10, 2018 at 2:50 pm |
No, Bill, we don’t know what time it is, but you have a great way with words. Thanks.
February 10, 2018 at 6:32 pm |
The only date I knew for certain was April 8, 1964, the day Jim Umbricht died. Two relatives of mine died on the same day in Colorado.
I hope a remnant of the Astrodome will always remain because Houston Colt .45s pitcher Jim Umbricht’s remains were spread over the construction site. His number “32” was the first retired by the Houston franchise.
February 11, 2018 at 8:03 am |
A complete list of deceased baseball players who wore a Houston uniform, and their dates of death, can be found at this site.
http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/deceased.html
February 12, 2018 at 3:42 pm |
Two guiding principles of life
Everyday day above ground is worth living
Keep your mind full and your bowels empty
DMatlosz