Ed Ott, 1979 World Series champ from Muncy, dies at 72

Ed Ott, a legendary baseball player with the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates' World Series championship team, died Sunday in Danville, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Ott, who was 72 and born in Muncy, is survived by his wife, Sue, and daughter, Michelle.

"We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family," team president Travis Williams said in a statement, according to TribLive.com. "Ed spent seven of his eight years in the major leagues with the Pirates and was a valued member of our World Series championship team in 1979. It was great to see him last summer when he was in Pittsburgh to support former teammate Kent Tekulve at our Hall of Fame induction ceremony."

Ott played for the Pirates from 1974 to 1980. He had the best season of his career in 1979, when the Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles in a seven-game series to win the world championship.

According to TribLive.com, when Ott grew up in Muncy the Muncy High Indians didn't have a baseball team. Ott instead played football and wrestled. Ott played American Legion baseball in the summers, and the Pirates drafted him in the 23rd round in 1970 as a third baseman. He later would play as an outfielder and then catcher.

Ott later coached and managed in the minors for the Angels, Pirates and Cincinnati Reds before joining the Houston Astros' coaching staff in 1989.