Duck standout Averill dies at 83.

Byline: Austin Meek The Register-Guard

Earl Averill Jr., Oregon's first baseball all-American and a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, died Wednesday in Tacoma at the age of 83.

Averill played for the Ducks from 1951to 1953, batting .439 as a sophomore and topping .300 in each of his three seasons. He played seven seasons in the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels.

Averill died from complications following surgery, according to The (Tacoma) News Tribune.

Averill's father, Earl, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after a 13-year career spent mostly with the Indians. The younger Averill, a big-league catcher who played third base and outfield at Oregon, said he never felt pressure from his father to be a baseball star.

"I wish he had pushed me," Averill said in a 2013 interview. "Dad was one of those who was so good at the game himself, I guess he figured everybody else could come by it naturally."

Joe Gordon, another Oregon Hall of Famer who played second base for the Yankees and managed four major-league teams, was responsible for signing Averill to a contract with the Indians. At Gordon's invitation, Averill attended a tryout after finishing his college career and made his big-league debut with Cleveland in 1956.

Averill hit .242 in his Major League career with 249 hits and 44 home runs. His best season came with the Angels in 1961, when he hit .266 with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs. He also played nine seasons in the minor leagues before retiring in 1965 at age 35.

Averill still appears in the Major League Baseball record book for reaching base in 17 consecutive plate appearances in 1962, a record he shares with Piggy Ward's mark from 1893.

Averill returned to the Tacoma area after he retired, working as a computer programmer, businessman and consultant. He became an avid Mariners fan, and the team honored him with a moment of silence before Thursday's game.

"He was a really good storyteller," Averill's son, Randy, told The Seattle Times. "To him, it was never about the baseball, but more about the people."