Enos Slaughter critical after surgeries

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Baseball Hall of Famer Enos "Country" Slaughter remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after undergoing two emergency surgeries in the past two weeks.

Slaughter, 86, was in the intensive care unit at Duke University Medical Center, hospital spokesman Richard Puff said. He had colon surgery July 25 and surgery to repair perforated stomach ulcers July 29.

Slaughter's daughter, Gaye Currier, said that neither surgery was related to his treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which was diagnosed in June.

He has been undergoing combined treatments with chemotherapy and radiation to fight the disease -- a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's immune system.

"His blood counts are down," said Currier, a nurse at Duke. "He's very weak, and he's very fatigued. But he's shown some improvement in the last couple of days."

Currier said her father remained on a ventilator and could not speak, but he recognized family members and understood when they spoke to him.

"He's really hanging in there," she said. "It'll be a slow process, but the doctors said he should be able to recover."

Slaughter, who grew up and still lives in Roxboro, batted .300 in 19 seasons, 13 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played on the winning team four times in five World Series appearances. He also played in 10 consecutive All-Star games, batting .391. He led the National League with 130 RBIs in 1946.

Slaughter's illness forced him to miss last month's induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. It was the first one he missed since his induction in 1985.

Last week, he received a oversized get-well card in his hospital room signed by the Hall of Famers who attended the July 28 ceremony. The oversized card said: "Thinking of you, Enos."

Slaughter joined the Cardinals in 1938 and, except for missing three years to serve in World War II, stayed in St. Louis until he was traded to the New York Yankees in 1954. He retired in 1959.

One theory for his 26-year wait to enter the Hall of Fame was tied to allegations that Slaughter was a racist who tried to organize a strike when Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues.

Slaughter vehemently denied such a plan was ever discussed and disputed charges of racism.

"There's been a hell of a lot of stuff written on that because I was a Southern boy," he said during a 1994 interview with The Associated Press. "It's just a lot of baloney."

His most memorable moment came when he scored from first base on Harry Walker's single in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. His "Mad Dash" broke a tie and is commemorated outside St. Louis' Busch Stadium with a bronze statute of Slaughter sliding home.

 

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