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Choo Choo Coleman, an original Met, dies at 80

NEW YORK -- Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman, a catcher on the expansion 1962 Mets who spent four seasons in the major leagues with New York and the Philadelphia Phillies, died Monday. He was 80.

Coleman, who had been suffering from cancer, died at the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina, according to a niece, Linda Hibbler. Coleman had lived for more than two decades in nearby Bamberg.

Hibbler said he was born on Aug. 18, 1935. Baseballreference.com listed his date of birth as Aug 25, 1937.

Coleman said he was given his nickname was when he was young.