GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) — North Carolina native Gaylord Perry, acclaimed Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner, as well as master of the spitball, died Thursday. He was 84.
Perry died at his home in Gaffney, South Carolina, at about 5 a.m. Thursday of natural causes, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said. He did not provide additional details.
Perry was born in Williamston, North Carolina, on Sept. 15, 1938, according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Perry pitched for eight major-league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40.
Perry was a five-time All-Star who was entered into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1973 and Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
He had a career record of 314-255, finished with 3,554 strikeouts and used a pitching style where he doctored baseballs or made batters believe he was doctoring them. His 1974 autobiography was titled “Me and the Spitter.”
After his career, Perry founded the baseball program at Limestone College in Gaffney and was its coach for the first three years.
