Thurman Munson Marquee

He caught 1,278 games for New York, batted .292 and collected 1,558 hits, and he never played for another club. He was Rookie of the Year in 1970, won Gold Gloves in 1973, 1974 and 1975, and was Most Valuable Player in 1976, when he had 186 hits and drove in 105. Seven All-Star teams chose him.

He drove in at least 100 runs in 1975, 1976 and 1977 while catching 130, 121 and 136 games in those years, which is a rare thing for a catcher to carry. New York named him captain in 1976, the first man to hold the title since Lou Gehrig.

He played his last game on August 1, 1979 and died the next day, at 32, flying the jet he had bought that summer. He was 97 games into the season. The writers put him on the ballot in 1981 and gave him 62 votes of 401 cast, with 301 needed. Fourteen more ballots followed and he was never elected.