Former MLB pitcher Cloyd Boyer dies

Sep. 23—Former professional pitcher Cloyd Boyer died on Monday night at St. Luke's Care Center in Carthage.

Services for Boyer is set at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Alba Christian Church. Visitation is from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday at Hedge-Lewis-Goodwin Funeral Home in Webb City.

Boyer, 94, was the oldest of seven Boyer baseball brothers from Alba, Mo. He was the 18th-oldest former major league player at the time of his death.

Boyer spent 48 years in professional baseball — first as a player and then as a major league pitching coach, minor league manager and scout. He served as pitching coach for the New York Yankees in 1975, the Atlanta Braves from 1978-81 and the Kansas City Royals from 1982-83.

He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945 shortly after his graduation from Alba and made his major league debut with St. Louis just four years later.

Boyer pitched for the Cardinals from 1949-52 and then spent the next two years in the minor leagues. He joined the Kansas City Athletics for the 1955 campaign.

In total for his MLB career, Boyer had a 20-23 overall record with a 4.73 ERA while logging nearly 400 innings. The righty struck out 198 batters and had 48 starts in 111 appearances.

Boyer pitched in the minors until 1961. He started his coaching career for the Richmond Virginians in 1962.

His brothers Ken and Clete also reached the big leagues. Ken played the majority of his 15 years in the Cardinals organization, and Clete spent most of his career with the Yankees.

Both fittingly had a number of parallels, including playing the same position (third base) and played against each other in the 1964 World Series that St. Louis won in seven games.

Ken passed away in 1982 while Clete died in 2007.

Boyer brothers Wayne, Lynn, Ron and Len also played in the minors, and Ken and Clete had sons that played professional baseball. Ron, who resides in Webb City, is the last surviving brother.