The patriarch of a family connected through the years to Illinois baseball and the local baseball scene has died.
Tom Fletcher, 75, died on Wednesday night. No official cause was given, but the Illinois baseball team confirmed the news on Thursday morning.
Fletcher was a 1962 All-American pitcher and first team All-Big Ten selection before he signed with the Detroit Tigers that year as well.
He pitched in one game for the Tigers in the 1962 season, but that was the only MLB game the left-hander pitched in after a blood clot developed in his shoulder.